Author: Regency

Title: The Long Night

Category: Romance, angst, possible character death

Rating: PG-13

Summary: With Teresa out of the picture, Rebecca needs something else to do. When her 'hobby' lands Eve in the hospital; she realizes that she's severely overplayed her hand. Too late, she recognizes that without Eve to hold over his head, Julian is a very formidable man. And when his wrath is unleashed, someone may not get out alive.

But the real question is: Will Eve? And what's happening on her side of the long night?

Author's Notes: Anything that a dedicated watcher doesn't recognize, I made up.

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone except those unrecognizable to an avid watcher, but I actually don't know who does. It's J. R. , isn't it?

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The Long Night

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Eve's POV

God, what happened? I shake my head a little, but immediately regret the move. I know better. I stay completely still and do a perfunctory evaluation of my physical. Well, I try to do an evaluation. My mind is so foggy that I can't tell if I'm face up or face down. As a matter of fact, I don’t think I'm either. I can feel the blood rushing to my head in painful waves. Well, I guess that's settled. I'm pretty sure I'm upside down. I can't really tell and my eyes refuse to open.

It feels as if my chest is going to burst. There's something happening in there. It's like there's something jammed up against it. Or inside of it. I reach my hand to where I think the obstruction is, but I pull it away immediately with a hiss. I rub my fingers together and feel a flash of pain, followed by a sticky dripping substance sliding down my hand. I don't have to see it, not like I actually can, to know that it's blood. The thick air around me is saturated in the odor of it.

What happened? As the smell of gas hits me, I remember.

*FLASHBACK*

I was driving home from checking on Teresa and was trying to decide how I was to put Liz and Whitney off for a little longer; just until I'd had time to find a way to save my marriage. I'd decided already that my family was a loss. It had been a painful admission to make, but I'd already lost the respect of my oldest daughter, now I had to prepare to lose that of my younger one, my husband, and quite possibly all of Harmony, though I don't know if that's saying a whole hell of a lot.

As I was thinking of any of a thousand ways to make it up to T. C. I was blinded for a moment by the headlights reflected in my rear-view mirror. After, swerving for a moment, I regained control of the car and following a quick mirror-check, continued on my way home. I didn't realize it wasn't over yet.

I encountered a road block that I could have sworn wasn't there before and after just a brief pause, I took the recommended detour down a street I'm not terribly familiar with. There were plenty of houses on this street, but they were all dark and gave off a forbidding demeanor. I didn't know why, but I had this feeling that I was in big trouble. I'd never missed Julian more than at that moment. As I drove towards the end of the street, it was like fate was snapping back like a rubber band. And I was in the crossfire. As I drove around a bend in the road I became aware that I wasn't alone anymore. I knew immediately that it was the same car from before. There weren't any houses beyond the bend. There was just mile after mile of open fields. I then knew that I should have let Julian follow me home.

I was convinced that I wasn't going to make it home tonight. I reached into my purse in the passenger seat and rummaged around for my cell phone. My first mind was to call Julian and have him meet me wherever this hellish ride would end. But, I held off, hoping this person, whoever they were, would just go away and leave me alone.

As the muted green of the fields continued to pass me by, with no help in sight, my fear grew. I kept looking into the mirrors to see those same headlights following me. They were closer then, than I had remembered them being before. That's when the ramming started. At first, it was such that I was sure I had imagined it. They couldn't have possibly been ramming me. But then, they did it a second time. This time, much harder. I knew they meant to do it this time. I went back to my purse and grasped my cell, flipping it open and on. The first number on my speed dial was T. C. , but the second was Julian. I was never so happy to see the number two in my life. Before I could press the number, the car behind rammed me again, causing me to drop the phone. Damn it! They must have seen the light from where they were. Unless I could get that phone, there was no way I was getting out of there alive. At this point, I had to be going at break-neck speed and to be hitting me, so did the person behind me.

Eventually, with much precariousness and luck, I snagged the phone with my fingertips from under the passenger seat. This time I pressed the two quickly, but again, they slammed into my car, this time on the side, by the backseat on the driver's side, my side. And again, I dropped the phone, but this time I tried to hit the OK button before it slipped out of my hands. I don't know if I succeeded, because the next thing I knew my world had been reduced to the sounds of metal crunching, tires screeching, pain, screaming, and darkness.

And that's all I remember.