Chapter Text
“And I told him…” Jack trails off, barely able to contain his laughter. Karen’s high pitched cackle joins in, fully engaged in what her friend is telling her. Will manages a meager smile, his attention diverted elsewhere. He wishes Grace were here with them, taking bites of food off Will’s plate while he pretends not to notice. Will invited her, but as soon as Leo mentioned the fundraiser he was invited to had a desert table and all-you-can-eat shrimp cocktail, the lawyer knew he was fighting a losing battle. The Fag Four is now down to three. Sometimes Leo will join them to keep Grace happy, but the atmosphere is not the same. Karen can’t stand Leo, Jack is indifferent, and Will tries his hardest to share his best friend with her husband.
“Willicent Truman!” Jack shrieks, noticing the lawyer staring off into the distance for the remainder of his saga. Will jolts to attention and smacks his knee on the lip of the table.
“Be careful Wilma! You almost spilled my drink,” Karen pouts. Will glares at her. They both know she can afford to refill her glass as many times as she wants. Jack’s cerulean eyes narrow into tiny slits. His index finger swirls continuously as he points at Will.
“You're more uptight than usual. Did you try and fail to fit into one of my shirts again?” Jack asks. Will rolls his hazel eyes. Karen rests a manicured hand on Will’s bicep. She polishes off the rest of her gin martini and plops an olive into her mouth.
“No Poodle, Wilma just misses his better half. Isn’t that right?” Karen rubs Will’s arm in mock affection. The waiter appears at their table, holding a tiny leather folder containing the check in his hand. Karen keeps her hand on Will’s arm, patting it supportively.
“Mr. Walker, Mrs. Walker, I hope you enjoyed dining with us tonight,” the older waiter tells Karen and Will. Jack coughs into his hand while a deep frown curls on Karen’s lips. It’s only been a few months since Stan died, and despite her usual carefree demeanor, Karen is still sensitive about the loss of her third husband.
Will opens his mouth to reassure the gray-haired man he made a simple mistake, but Karen cuts him off.
“Hey Grandpa, get your eyes checked! And get someone over here to refill my drink while you are at it!” Karen barks. She withdraws her hand from Will’s arm and hands the waiter her empty martini glass. The waiter mutters his apologies and disappears into the hustle and bustle of the restaurant.
“He thought the two of you are married,” Jack says through his laughter. Will chuckles at the thought. Since Leo has stolen Grace away from their friend group, he and Karen have been spending more time together. They don’t necessarily need Jack or Grace as a buffer like they used to. Will looked out for Karen through her divorce with Stan and his untimely death. Although she would never admit it, Karen appreciated having someone who cared about her best interests without expecting something in return. Jack is a great gossip and shopping buddy, but he tends to shy away from more serious conversations. Grace is also a good friend, but she always seems to make it all about her. Will has proven to be a sympathetic ear and it helps that she’s always had a tiny crush on him, even though he’s gay.
The same waiter returns quickly with Karen’s martini as she slides a random credit card into the leather bill. She doesn’t bother to look at the amount, or ask if Will wants to split it with her. Sometimes, Will and Karen trade off paying for the group, knowing that Grace and Jack won’t be able to.
Karen downs her new martini in a few gulps and picks up the toothpick full of skewered olives. She finds Will’s leg under the table, rubbing her high heel up and down his charcoal pant leg.
“What do you say, Wilma? You and me? Or are you going to need to ask Grace for a divorce first?” Karen’s voice takes on a flirtier tone, probably because of the rate she’s been consuming her drinks. Will clears his throat and swallows the leftover drops of cabernet remaining in the large wine glass. He winks at Karen, enjoying their banter.
Jack huffs dramatically and stands up, feeling left out of the exchange. Karen and Will quickly follow. Will grabs Karen’s white fur coat, throwing it over her shoulders as they exit the restaurant. The three of them huddle in front of the restaurant, unsure of what to do next.
Will shoves his hands into his pockets. He had two glasses of wine, but the buzz is wearing off. Autumn is slowly giving way to winter in New York, with temperatures dropping rapidly after the sun sets.
Jack steps forward, waving down a taxi.
“Will, can I have some money for cab fare?” Jack asks, holding out his hand. “Fernando and I are going to a drag show in the Village.” Will digs in his wallet and hands Jack a twenty. “Tater tot!”
“Bye Poodle, have fun,” Karen waves to her best friend and watches him climb into the taxi. Will stands next to Karen, slightly shivering. He assumes Karen is going to take off to the manse, not wanting to be left with just him. Though, Will wouldn’t mind. Karen is a fun drinking buddy, especially when she’s already had a few. Her phone beeps in her ebony purse she has dangling on her arm. “Ugh, Driver is stuck uptown…something about hitting another pedestrian…I don’t know.”
Will shakes his head at the nonchalant nature of Karen relaying this information to him. He won’t abandon her on the front steps of Catch. He is a gentleman after all.
“Come on Satan, I’ll walk you home.” Will extends his arm out to Karen, grinning when she eagerly loops her arm through his. They walk side-by-side exchanging quips about the people they encounter.
“Honey, look, I think Grace has that bag in a different color,” Karen points to a homeless woman carrying a garbage bag. Will snickers under his breath as the homeless woman sneers at them. Karen furrows her eyebrows when Will makes an abrupt turn down a less populated street. Despite living in New York for the majority of her adult life, she doesn’t know the city very well. Karen is used to being driven around by Driver. “Wilma, do you actually know where you are going? There’s nobody on this street but homeless people and…a homo.” Karen frowns as she steps in a puddle. She is ruining a perfectly good pair of Louboutins for no reason. “Damn it.”
“Yeah, just a few more blocks,” Will yells over his shoulder. He realizes how far ahead he is of Karen and extends his hand out to her. Karen grabs it, surprising the both of them when she doesn’t immediately sever the embrace. She doesn’t fall in step with him, the length of his strides are too long for her to keep up.
Will and Karen walk hand-in-hand in comfortable silence for a few moments when someone roughly yanks on Karen’s arm. Will turns his head at the abrupt gesture, thinking that Karen just got tired of holding his hand. His eyebrows lift at the sight of a bearded, scraggly man pulling Karen towards him.
Karen’s hazel eyes widen when she realizes that she’s at least six inches away from Will, the gap widening by the second. She makes frantic eye contact with him, not fully grasping the situation they’ve now found themselves in. Will holds his hands out in a stopping motion. He makes a cautious step towards Karen. The bearded man now has his arm across her tiny body, easily overpowering her.
“Will,” Karen squeaks out. She turns her head slightly, wanting to get a look at the person who has her in a vise-like grip. The man grunts and backhands her across the face.
“HEY!” Will yells as Karen puts her hand to her stinging cheek. Will moves towards Karen, but the man pulls a crude knife from his pocket.
“Don’t come any closer,” the man warns Will. Karen skims her fingers along her injured cheek, her diamond ring glistening in dim lighting of the alley. This catches the assailant's attention and he yanks Karen towards his frame again.
Karen whimpers, clutching her purse tightly to her chest. She can smell the alcohol on his breath. If she had to guess, the man who is attacking them is either a drunk or needed some liquid courage for what he was about to do.
She can feel his rough, calloused hands playing with her diamond ring. Even after Stan cheated on her, divorced her and then died, she still kept his engagement ring on. It’s her favorite piece of jewelry and she won’t let it go easily.
Her breath quickens when his hand diverts up her arm to her chest, making a brief stop at the diamond necklace wrapped around her neck. He pushes her brunette hair back to see the matching diamond studs in her ears.
Will is watching in agonized silence, just waiting for the robber to make his move. He’s already proven that he can be violent by slapping Karen. And the lawyer knows Karen won’t just hand her jewelry over.
“You think your husband will mind if I just take these things from you?” The man asks, his breath hot in her ear. He holds the blade up to Karen’s neck and turns her to face Will. “Should we ask him?”
He’s dead, so good luck with that, Karen thinks to herself, but doesn’t dare say it. Will steps forward again, holding his wallet out as a peace offering.
“Just take my wallet, take her wallet and go. We don’t want any trouble,” Will reasons with him. He is hoping his years of negotiating as a lawyer will save them. The man grunts and pushes Karen down to the ground and approaches Will. He snatches the wallet out of Will’s hand and starts rifling through it. He takes out a few bills and shoves them in the pocket of his cargo pants. Karen takes the opportunity to quickly get off the concrete and starts moving towards Will, so she can get behind him.
Unfortunately, the man is thinking in tune with Karen and yanks her back by her hair, emitting a loud scream from the socialite. Will grimaces at the anger flashing through their assailants face. For whatever reason, the man is directing his fury at Karen, not Will. Will wonders if it even matters that he is here, not that he would leave Karen alone with this psychopath.
“Shut up,” the man slaps Karen again, hitting her across her ear. One of her diamond studs flies out and her ear starts bleeding. Karen puts her hand to her injured ear, frowning at the tiny blood stain marring her white fur coat. He makes the knife visible to Karen and Will, waving it in the air.
Will glances around him, wondering if anyone else is witnessing what is going on. Hopefully, someone has called the cops and they will be on their way shortly.
“What do you want?” Will asks clearly. This has gone on long enough. There is no reason for them to stay trapped in this alley with this deranged person. Karen is bleeding and terrified. Will is physically unharmed, but shaken.
“I want your wife to hand over all of her precious jewelry. I know it’s real,” the man insists. Will waits for Karen to let out some snide remark about them not being married because he is a homo, but she doesn’t. She merely shakes her head, cringing when she gets slapped again.
“Alright! Alright! She will give you the earrings and the necklace, but not the ring,” Will barters for them. Now is not the time to be stubborn, Karen. The lawyer thinks to himself. “Honey, is that okay?”
Karen meets Will’s eyes at the term of endearment and picks the diamond stud off the ground, handing it to the man standing in between them. She takes the other earring out of her ear and puts it in his outstretched hand. Next, Karen reaches and takes her necklace off. Her mind flashes back to when Stan gave her that necklace in Bora Bora. They were newly married and happy then.
“Come on, stop stalling,” the man snaps at her. Karen drops it in his hand and waits for him to walk away. “And the ring.” She shrinks away, shifting her purse in front of her body to create a barrier between her and the man.
Will frowns, is Karen that stupid to risk her life for this ring? He doesn’t get a chance to answer his own question. The man grabs Karen and holds the blade to her neck. A drip of sweat runs down Will’s back. This is it. If Karen doesn’t give this man what he wants, he will kill her and possibly Will too.
“Your wife has three seconds to hand over her ring before I slit her throat and make you watch,” the man demands, pushing the blade further into Karen’s neck until she coughs. “One…two…”
Will thinks the man is going to count to three before Karen hands over the ring. He charges at the man, hoping to get the knife out of his hands. What he is doing is risky, but they don’t have another choice. Nobody is coming to save them. Even if the man gets what he wants, there’s nothing stopping him from killing the both of them.
Will reaches for the knife in their assailant's hand, but the man has about fifty pounds on him. Karen stays rooted to the ground, unsure of what to do. The man regains control of the knife and slashes at Will, grazing his lower stomach with the tip of the blade. Will groans and presses his hand to his wound. Karen screams, and the man uses one hand to cup over her mouth. He resumes his previous position, holding the knife to Karen’s throat. Will is able to stand upright, but he doesn’t have enough strength in him to go another round with the robber.
“Give me the ring or I will kill you. Now!” Karen uses her right hand to blindly take her ring off on her left hand. Will pushes back his blazer, seeing a giant hole where the knife cut him. Luckily, based on the amount of blood, it seems more like a deeper scratch than an actual cut. “You should’ve just done what I said to begin with.” In one fluid motion, the man removes the knife from Karen’s neck and plunges it into the lower left side of her abdomen.
Will gasps as he watches the pain explode onto Karen’s face. The man quickly drops the bloodied knife, scoops up Karen’s purse and darts off in the opposite direction.
“Oh my God! Karen!” Will yells and runs over to Karen, his injury completely forgotten. She is laying on the ground, holding her hand to her stab wound. Will kneels beside her, biting his lip at the stinging in his stomach caused by the abrupt gesture. He grabs his phone with one hand and tries to lift Karen up slightly so she is resting on his legs.
“Will…can you…” Karen gestures her head to her stomach where a carmine stain is blending into the ebony cashmere. Will dials 911, relaying their location while gently lifting up Karen’s shirt, exposing her creamy skin. Thankfully, her wound doesn’t look critical, but she’s still bleeding quite a bit.
“Yes, we need someone now! Uh…West…47th and…” Will strains to see the street sign in the darkness. “Uh huh…by the…yes…she’s been stabbed. Yes, she’s conscious…no…she can talk and answer questions…” Karen slips her hand into Will’s, groaning loudly when she tries to adjust. Will shakes his head, tightening his grip on her back. “We were robbed, we need help!” His voice is becoming more frantic. Will loosens his tie around his neck and holds it to Karen’s stomach, knowing it won’t do much. Karen bites her lip in pain. Her eyes are brimming with tears, but she refuses to cry. She won’t give the man that did this to her the satisfaction.
“Will?” Karen asks, her voice barely above a whisper. A nearby homeless woman approaches them, offering what’s left of a first-aid kit from her cart. Will hangs up with dispatch and thanks the woman trying to help. Karen winces when Will presses the gauze into her wound.
“I need to move you, the ambulance is on their way. Can you walk?” Will asks. Karen shakes her head. The pain is intensifying, the cocktail of booze and painkillers she took with dinner is barely making a dent. Will lifts her up, being mindful of her wound. It takes everything in him not to cry out in pain. He will address his cut once they get Karen to the hospital. She is the more critical of the two of them. Karen winces and turns her head so Will doesn’t see her wipe her eyes. “I’m sorry sweetie.”
“I’m not Grace, Wilma. You don’t have to baby me,” Karen says with little aggravation left in her voice. She is glad she didn’t have to go through this alone otherwise she would still be lying there, waiting for someone to find her before it’s too late.
Will carries her to a main road with more foot traffic while trying not to stare at the large blood stain on her sweater. He is trying to keep Karen talking while they are waiting for the ambulance to arrive. Karen lifts up her sweater, gasping at the blood drenching the gauze Will just applied. Will notices the color draining from the socialite’s face.
“It’s okay, you’re okay,” Will reassures her, although he has no idea if what he is saying is true. She might need surgery. Karen balls Will’s matching gray blazer into a fist.
“This hurts Wilma,” Karen admits and lets out a rattling breath. Will gently adjusts his hold on her. His arms are growing tired of holding her and his stomach is stinging. He can feel the wetness of his shirt where her blood is mixing with his. Sirens are fast approaching and Will steps forward to wave the ambulance down.
The ambulance parks on the curb in front of Will. Two male paramedics leap out of the back of the ambulance. The African-American paramedic rolls out the gurney while the other white paramedic assesses Karen.
“What happened?” The paramedic asks the pair.
“We were robbed. She’s been stabbed in the stomach. I don’t know if I was supposed to move her, but I was worried you wouldn’t be able to find us. And…” Will cuts off his rambling, failing to mention his own injury. The paramedic reminds Will of a blonde version of Jack. Same eye color, hair style, but hopefully not the same understanding of medicine.
“It’s alright sir, here, let me take her,” Will transfers over Karen to the paramedic like you would a baby. “Easy, try not to jostle her.” The two paramedics work together to get Karen loaded onto the gurney and into the back of the ambulance.
“Sir, you can ride with your wife,” the African American paramedic tells Will. Will doesn’t bother to correct him as many people have made that same mistake tonight. He climbs into the ambulance and sits next to the gurney. Karen is biting her lip while the blonde paramedic starts addressing her wound. Will puts a hand on her arm, using the other to call Jack.
“Jack! Jack, listen!” Will yells into the phone, startling both Karen and the paramedics. “We are going to the hospital. Call Grace and meet us there. I will explain when I see you guys. Okay?” Will won’t bother relaying the whole story when he can barely hear Jack over the music of the bar.
Jack wordlessly hangs up the phone and excuses himself from the bar to call Grace. He has no clue what is going on, but Will wouldn’t joke about something like this. Whatever happened is serious, he could tell by Will’s tone.
“How does it look?” Will asks the paramedic. Karen hasn’t said much besides an occasional wince or moan in pain. The paramedic wipes off some blood from around the gash and opens a fresh bandage with his teeth.
“I think she’s going to need stitches, but it looks a lot worse than it is. Whatever she was stabbed with wasn’t sharp enough to do any significant damage. I doubt she will need surgery of any kind. Your wife is really lucky.”
“Oh she’s not…” Will trails off when his cell phone blares through the ambulance.
“We are about three minutes out!” The driver yells out.
“It’s Grace,” Will tells Karen. Karen barely acknowledges him. She is having a hard time staying awake due to the blood loss and shock her body is experiencing. Will squeezes Karen’s hand to get her attention and answers the phone. Karen can hear Grace yelling at Will on the other end. “Gracie, just get to the hospital and I promise I will explain everything. Is Jack with you?”
“Okay…yup…tell Leo to come too…we might need a second opinion…” Will puts his finger to his temples as he listens to Grace prattle on. His stress headache started once the adrenaline began to wear off.
The ambulance comes to a halt and the two paramedics stand up and start moving around Will to get Karen out and into the emergency room.
“Gracie, I have to go. We just arrived. Yes, we…come to the emergency room. Bye.” Will hangs up the phone while Grace is still talking. His priority is making sure Karen is getting the care she needs, not answering Grace’s endless number of questions. He understands Jack and Grace are concerned and he will brief them both at the same time.
Will follows the stretcher and the paramedics into an empty triage room at the end of the main hallway. The paramedics converse with an older doctor and young, female nurse, swapping complex medical jargon that Will doesn’t grasp. He walks over to Karen, running his fingers through her silky dark hair. His free hand is pressed into his stomach, but the bleeding has already stopped.
“Make sure they give me good drugs, Wilma. I don’t want to be stitched up sober. And get yourself looked at too.” Karen mutters. Will presses the back of his hand into her cheek softly.
“I promise I will. And I can call Pharmacist for you if it comes to it,” Will jokes. Will steps back to let the female nurse and doctor start working on Karen. They start an IV and ask Karen some basic questions to catalog her injuries.
“Ma’am, you were seriously assaulted. I would recommend filing a police report,” the doctor tells Karen.
“We will,” Will answers for her. He hasn’t gotten to it yet, but when they are out of the hospital, he will do it if Karen won’t.
Another nurse pops their head in while the doctor is preparing the sutures and another is starting an IV for Karen.
“A redhead and two guys are here and are asking for you,” the nurse tells Will. Will stands up and walks over to the edge of Karen’s hospital bed. She waves him off. He pats her hand and walks out of the room. Sure enough, Grace, Leo and Jack are standing at the other end of the room, near some chairs.
“Will!” Jack exclaims, nearly toppling over an elderly woman sitting in a nearby chair. Grace laughs at Jack being so overwhelmed he nearly runs past Will. Will grabs him and places his hands on the younger man’s shoulders to center him. “Where is she? What happened?”
Will brings them over to a quieter corner of the emergency room, away from the patients and other doctors. Grace hugs Will and separates, grabbing Leo’s hand again. Jack, Leo and Grace sit down across from Will.
“Will, you’re bleeding!” Jack says, his voice dripping with concern. Will glances down at his white dress shirt stained in his and Karen’s blood. He didn’t notice it before, but to Jack, Grace and Leo, it must look like he’s been gravely injured instead of a minor cut.
“Oh…I got cut…” Grace and Jack gasp while Leo’s blue eyes widen. “We…well…Karen more so than me, were robbed. The guy took her jewelry and purse. He slapped her a few times and stabbed her to get away.”
Jack puts his hand over his mouth while Grace buries her head in Leo’s shoulder. Will puts a sympathetic hand on Grace’s back. Ever since they arrived at the hospital, Will’s finding it harder and harder to ignore the dull sting of his cut. Leo pushes Will’s blazer away from his shirt. Grace and Jack gasp at the visible laceration caked in dried blood.
“Come on, Will, sit down. Let me look at that cut,” Leo tells him. Grace and Jack follow Leo and Will. Despite his protests, Leo gently forces Will to sit down in a waiting chair and untucks Will’s dress shirt.
“Your husband is undressing your other husband. Is this a dream come true for you?” Jack asks Grace. Grace merely thwacks Jack in the head with her fingers.
“Ow! Grace!” Jack exclaims.
“Well, the bleeding stopped, but I still want to sterilize the wound and put a bandage on it. I’ll be back,” Leo goes into an empty room and closes the door.
“What about you, Will? How are you doing besides your cut?” Grace asks. Her best friend looks disheveled and is missing his favorite navy tie. Will grabs Grace’s hand and lets out a deep sigh.
“It’s my fault, Gracie. We went down that street because I made a wrong turn. I didn’t mean…” the rest of his sentence dies on Will’s lips. Grace tightens his grip on Will’s hand.
“Will, don’t do that. You didn’t rob or hurt Karen. You had no way of knowing what was going to happen. And you said so yourself, she’s fine. Come here.” Grace leans her head on Will’s shoulder. Leo comes back quickly with his supplies and kneels in front of Will.
“This is going to sting for a minute,” Leo warns Will. He wipes Will’s gash with an alcohol wipe. Will flinches and grabs onto Grace’s hand. “Sorry, man. Hold on.” Leo wipes a few more times and tosses the wipe aside. He cuts a long strip of gauze to the size of Will’s cut and secures it with some tape.
“Is that it? Is he okay?” Grace asks her husband. Leo nods and stands up.
“Yeah, the cut is minor, it should heal on its own.” Grace breathes a sigh of relief. Now that they know Will is okay, they can focus on Karen.
“I’m going to find her doctor. I want to make sure they don’t get some intern to stitch her up.” Leo announces.
“Thanks, baby,” Grace accepts a kiss from Leo and watches him disappear into the hustle and bustle of the emergency room.
Jack can barely sit still, and mumbles something about a hot nurse before scampering off.
“I’m so glad you guys are okay,” Grace mutters. “You need to change your shirt.”
“I don’t want to leave until I make sure she’s okay,” Will states, leaving no room for debate. Grace furrows her eyebrows and glances up at Will.
“You really do care about her, huh? Despite all the references to Satan, you have a soft spot for Karen,” Grace says in a playful tone to lighten the mood.
“You should’ve seen what that man did to her, Grace. Yeah, he hurt me too, but nothing compared to what he did to her. He took her jewelry, including Stan’s ring, her wallet. It was almost like he was targeting her. But yes, under all the gin and distaste for polyblends, she’s good people.”
A little while later, Leo comes back with the doctor who met Karen and Will with the ambulance. Jack is back by this time, having secured a date for a few days from now with the hot nurse he was chatting up.
“Mr. Truman, your wife is all stitched up,” the older doctor says as he shakes Will’s hand. Jack and Grace make the same confused expression.
“Wife! Karen isn’t married to this fruit,” Jack says with a laugh. Grace nudges him. Now is not the time for their usual insults to Will. The doctor blushes for his error.
“Sorry, I just thought…by the way you were with each other…anyway…” Grace glances at Will while the doctor is explaining the medical side of Karen’s current state. Will is listening intently, and Grace can’t help but be jealous. She quickly dismisses the thought. If it were her in Karen’s shoes, she knows Will would be acting the same way. “The knife wasn’t sharp and it didn’t hit any major arteries or organs. I’m going to send her home, but she has to be watched overnight in case she spikes a fever or anything like that. She’s in good hands.” The doctor pats Leo’s back.
“Thank you Dr. Cook. We will take care of her,” Leo assures his colleague.
“Good. You can see her. She’s in the room on the end to the right.” Jack practically sprints across the emergency room, bumping into people along the way. Grace, Will and Leo follow at a much slower pace.
Karen is half-asleep in the bed. Her IV has been removed, but she’s still wearing a hospital gown. Her clothes had too much blood on them to be saved. Jack rushes to her side, carefully giving her a hug.
“Hi Poodle,” Karen says softly. Grace is freaked out by the sight of her. What’s left of Karen’s makeup is smeared around her brown eyes, her chocolate hair is tangled from laying in bed for the past few hours and her usual black ensemble has been replaced with a hospital gown.
“Hey Kare, I was so worried.” Jack presses a kiss to Karen’s cheek. Grace leans forward to hug her friend. Leo awkwardly stands next to Will.
“I’m so glad you are okay,” Grace sincerely tells Karen.
“Thanks Gracie. They said I could go, but I don’t have anything to change into. Would you mind running to Bergdorf’s and getting something for me?” Karen asks. She glances around for her purse to give Grace and Jack, but frowns when she realizes why she doesn’t have it.
“I’m sure we can figure something out,” Grace assures her. Leo whispers something in her ear and leaves the room. Jack sits on the edge of the hospital bed, close to Karen. He launches into a tale about his night with Fernando and the cute nurse he met while they waited for her. Will realizes Jack is doing his best to distract Karen with an over-the-top story so she won’t have to mull over what happened earlier. Will moves closer to Grace, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. The four of them enjoy each other’s company like the good old days, momentarily forgetting about the horrific circumstances surrounding their reunion.
Leo appears with a set of pink scrubs in his hand and hands them to Jack. Jack, with a disgusted look on his face, gives them to Karen.
“Oh, thanks Lebron, but I don’t wear polyester,” Karen quips. Grace rolls her eyes at the socialite. Will makes a quick call to Rosario to have Karen’s usual nightie and robe along with a clean pair of clothes waiting in the limo that will take them back to his apartment. He doesn’t want Karen going back to the manse until the guy that has her license is in custody.
“Well, it’s either you wear this or you leave naked. The hospital won’t let you leave in their gown,” Leo explains to Karen. Karen kneads the harsh fabric with a grimace. Will places a hand on Karen’s arm, garnering her full attention.
“I told Rosario to have clothes waiting in the limo for you,” Will tells her. Karen is visibly touched by the gesture and squeezes Will’s hand.
“Thanks honey. I need help changing, so if you have a penis, get out.” Leo, Will and Jack give Karen the privacy she is requesting while Grace lingers, ready to help her friend if needed.
“I’ll get her discharge papers,” Leo says over his shoulder on the way out. Grace nods and turns back to Karen, who is foolishly trying to ease herself out of bed.
“Karen let…”
“A bup bup bup,” Karen says, holding her finger in front of Grace’s face. The new painkillers in her system make the entire lower left side of her body feel almost numb. Grace holds her hands up, watching her friend find stable ground on her feet. Karen winces and attempts to raise her arms above her head. The pulling of her stitches prevents Karen from being able to lift the gown over her head. She chokes back a sob at the tugging motion and turns so Grace doesn’t see her dissolve into tears.
“Karen, let me help you,” Grace insists. She puts her hand on Karen’s back. Grace can’t imagine the inner turmoil her friend is going through right now, but won’t pity her. Karen will completely shut down if she thinks Grace feels sorry for her.
“Fine, but no groping you big lez,” Karen says in a shaky voice. Grace smiles and spins Karen around gently so she can lift the shorter woman’s gown off her body. She hands Karen the scrubs Leo provided for her and carefully waits for a request for help.
“Excuse me, are you Will Truman?” A police officer asks Jack while the three guys wait outside Karen’s room.
“How dare you! I am way too skinny to be Will,” Jack says to the female officer. Will rolls his eyes and extends his hand to the officer.
“I’m Will Truman. This is my adorable friend Jack McFarland.”
“Hi, Mr. Truman, we wanted to follow up with you on the robbery that occurred tonight. We got your wife’s statement earlier, but we were unable to find you at the time.”
“Oh no, I’m her friend, not her husband,” Will clarifies for what seems like the hundredth time that night. Everyone he and Karen encountered tonight thought they were married. The officer furrows her brows and makes a note in her notepad. Jack tries to look to see what she wrote down, but the officer holds her pad closer to her chest.
“Sorry. We just want to get your side of the story, what happened, what you remember, anything like that. Do you have a moment to talk?” Will nods. He is willing to do anything to get the person that did this to Karen behind bars as soon as possible.
“Karen and I were walking down a somewhat deserted street when she was roughly grabbed by the man who robbed us,” Will starts. The officer is frantically taking notes while Jack stands next to Will.
“Do you remember what he looks like? Any tattoos? Scars?” The officer asks. Will shakes his head.
“He is about as tall as Jack, here. He was white, had a dark, scraggly beard and he seemed intoxicated. He was wearing cargo pants, and a dark blue flannel coat that was dirty. I think he may have been homeless. That’s all I really know.”
“That’s fine, this is a great start. Thank you. Did he hurt you or take anything from you as well?”
“He cut me in the stomach, but nothing too bad. He took money from my wallet. I think it was about forty bucks. He was way more interested in Karen than me.”
“When you say he was more interested in Mrs. Walker, did he try to kiss her? Anything like that?” Will feels Jack clutch his arm.
“No. I think she agitated him more than anything. I don’t know why.”
“Alright. Anything else you remember?” Will swallows deeply, knowing what he has to say next is going to be hard for Jack to hear.
“He slapped Karen a few times, one time he knocked out her earring and her ear started bleeding. After he…um…stabbed her…he dropped the knife on the ground and took off running with Karen’s purse.”
“Okay. I’m sorry for you to have to go through everything again, but I appreciate it. If there’s anything you or Mrs. Walker remember that you haven’t mentioned, please call me. Here’s my card.” The petite blonde hands Will her business card and gives a nod to Jack. Will pockets the card as Karen and Grace come out of the room. Karen is holding Grace’s hand, almost leaning on her a bit to hold her upright. Grace’s skinny frame can’t support Karen’s curvier one. Jack takes over for Grace and grabs Karen’s hand.
“Cute scrubs Kare, you can totally pull off the look,” Jack tells his best friend to make her feel better. Will follows behind the pair, walking alongside Grace and Leo.
The limo is waiting for them outside of the emergency room. Jack and Will help Karen slide in and Leo and Grace climb in after them. Will plops a Louis Vuitton duffle bag in Karen’s lap carefully so she can rifle through it.
“Poodle, fix Mama a drink, would ya, honey?” Karen asks Jack. Will and Grace make eye contact, having their own silent conversation about Karen’s drinking. They concede that after what Karen’s been through, she could use a stiff drink. Will too.
“Sure Kare,” Jack pours Karen a martini as Driver starts driving them back to Will’s apartment.
“Did I do good? I told Rosario what to pack for you,” Will whispers to Karen. He leans over and accepts the martini from Jack so Karen doesn’t have to strain herself. He takes a generous sip before handing it to Karen.
“Get your own, Mary. And yes, you did great,” Karen's voice lowers at the end. The two of them laugh at their private conversation.
“Uh Karen, you probably shouldn’t drink so much with the painkillers they gave you,” Leo says naively. Grace, Karen, Will and Jack laugh at Leo’s serious advice. Leo blushes and waves his hand in a dismissive gesture.
Once they get back to Will’s apartment, Grace carries Karen’s luggage in while Jack and Will help Karen sit on the couch. Her painkillers are starting to wear off a little, which is making it harder for her to move more fluidly.
“You need anything, Kare?” Jack asks.
“I need to get out of this scratchy uniform. It’s giving me hives,” Karen complains. “Gracie, come see me naked again, it will be fun.” Grace winks at Karen as Jack helps her off the couch. The two girls go into Grace’s old bedroom with Karen’s luggage.
“Do you think Karen will be okay?” Jack asks Will and Leo seriously when he hears Grace’s bedroom door shut. Will rubs his eyes while Leo shrugs.
“I don’t know, Jack. She has been through something horrible after going through something already tough. It’s going to take her some time to bounce back,” Will says. “She will probably up her intake of booze and pills, insult us a bit harsher than usual, terrorize her maids more, and then mellow out after a few weeks. I just hope they find the bastard who did this to her.”
Jack and Leo nod in agreement. Will appreciates Leo sticking around even though he is sure the doctor feels out of place. If it wasn’t for Leo, Karen would’ve had to stay overnight in the hospital.
Grace opens the door to her old bedroom and waves for either Jack or Will to help Karen. Jack offers and steps forward to help Karen walk out of the bedroom. Now that she’s wearing her usual black silk nightie and robe, she finally looks more like Karen.
“Karen, I’ll give you my bed tonight. I can move your bag into my room,” Will offers.
“Thanks honey.” Karen doubts she will get any sleep tonight. It’s almost two in the morning, and she is still wired. She’s afraid if she closes her eyes, all of the memories of the robbery she’s been trying to suppress will come to the surface.
“Well, I think we are going to turn in,” Grace says. Her and Leo are staying over at Will’s so the doctor can observe Karen overnight. “Night.” Grace stamps a kiss to the corner of Will’s mouth and gently hugs Karen and Jack.
“Karen, I’m going to look at your wound in the morning. I have to change the dressing,” Leo reminds her. Karen frowns at the thought.
“First Grace wants to see me naked, now you? Get a life Grace’s husband,” Karen quips. Grace laughs at the bemused expression on her husband’s face. She rubs Leo’s arm while saying goodnight to her friends.
“Kare, I’ll be right across the hall if you need something, or if Will is driving you crazy.” Jack assumes Will is going to sleep on the couch since he is giving Karen his bed. As much as he loves his best friend, Jack doesn’t want to smother her. She will open up in her own way, on her own time.
“Thanks Poodle,” Jack leans over and pecks Karen on the lips and nods at Will. He slams the door in a dramatic fashion, leaving Karen and Will alone in the living room.
“I know you're used to a guy…or Grace saying this to you, but come on honey, let’s go to your bedroom.” Will chuckles at Karen and gingerly lifts her off the couch. He walks behind her slowly. He carefully lowers her into the bed and makes sure she is as comfortable as she can be.
“Sorry, I really need to change out of these clothes and then I’ll leave you alone.” Will’s been in the same blood-soaked suit for hours. He rummages through his drawers to find a solid white shirt and gray sweatpants. He quickly discards his suit and changes into his pajamas. Karen is quiet the whole time, so much so that Will assumes she’s fallen asleep. He turns around to find Karen staring at him, almost as if she’s admiring his figure.
“Will?” Karen asks. She hates herself for wanting, needing to propose the offer, but she doesn’t think she will be able to sleep at all without it. Will recognizes that she’s using the same tone of voice as she did during the robbery. It’s reserved for her most vulnerable moments.
“Yeah?” Will takes a step closer to the bed. He has an idea of what Karen is going to ask him.
“Would you mind…staying in here tonight…with me?” Karen strings together her question piece by piece and then immediately looks away from Will.
“Of course I can.” Will moves to the other side of the bed and pulls back the comforter. Karen smiles and visibly relaxes further under the covers.
“Will?” Karen asks while Will is turning off the lamp on his side of the bed. He turns to face Karen, keeping his distance in case she changes her mind about them sleeping side-by-side. He’s done this hundreds of times with Grace, but never with Karen. Before today they didn’t have that kind of relationship.
“Yeah?” Karen reaches out, feeling Will shiver under her touch. She gently lifts up his white shirt to see the bandage. Karen traces her finger over the material. Will is surprised by how gentle Karen’s touch is and subconsciously leans into it. Karen didn’t get a chance to ask Will if he got his cut addressed in the chaos at the hospital. She’s glad that he took a moment to care for himself.
“Thank you…for everything you did for me…earlier. I’m so lucky to have you.” Karen gingerly leans forward and kisses Will on the lips. It lingers a little longer than their usual, friendly peck. Will smiles against her lips and kisses her back before separating. She lets her hand fall away from his body and back to her side of the bed. Will almost grabs it, but thinks better of it. He doesn’t want to push her too far and ruin the moment between them.
“Of course. Let’s just never have to go through something like that again.” Karen nods in agreement and winces as she adjusts in bed. “You know, so many people thought we were married, the waiter, the…guy, the paramedics, the doctor, police…what is with that?” Will ponders out loud to break the tension in the room.
“They couldn’t tell you were a fairy?” Karen asks.
“I guess not.” Will says through a yawn.
“I suppose there are worse things to be than your wife,” Karen’s eyes shift over to Will’s drooping eyelids, giving him a playful smirk. “I think we would make a good pair…if you weren’t such a queen.” Will laughs and nods in agreement. “Goodnight honey.”
“Goodnight.” A grin sweeps across Karen’s lips when Will absentmindedly slings his right arm around her protectively in his sleep a little while later. She takes in a rattling breath, and closes her eyes, finding it easier to drift off to sleep.
The End (?)