This one's for Warrior Erinburg. Just because she deserves it. I have permission to use her name in this. It's based on an incident that happened to her recently.
The usual disclaimers apply, I own none of the characters; they belong to their creators and several corporations. I won't make any money at this, as usual, so please, don't sue me. Erin appears through the gracious permission from...herself.
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"Hey, Blair!" the man in question turned and smiled as he recognized the man who had called him.
"Hey, Brian. What are you doing here?"
"Turning in my term papers for my classes. I got finished a little early, so I thought I'd drop them by. You going to the party tonight?"
"The Campus Commons mixer? I was thinking about it, why?"
"Well, I was thinking of going, as well. Perhaps I'll see you there."
"Sure. I'll see you later."
It was quite a party, lots of beer, lots of noise, lots of partiers. Blair was standing by one of the huge old trees that surrounded the park-like square, watching the goings-on and sipping a glass of beer. When he spotted Brian Rafe, he called out to him and waved him over.
"Hey, Brian. Over here!" Brian turned to locate the familiar voice. Smiling when he spotted Blair's waving hand, he made his way through the noisy, milling crowd.
"Good spot. How's it going?"
"Pretty quiet, still. You been here long?"
"Nah. Just got here a few minutes ago. Man, it looks like a real zoo." Brian looked around, trying to identify anyone else he knew. "How long have you been here?"
"Oh, about an hour. I figured I'd just hang out for a while, watching the crowd have fun, then go home. You?"
"I don't know. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to make it. Jim's still at the station, filling out the report on that idiot who tried to run Simon down earlier." Taking another sip of his beer.
"WHAT?!" Blair turned shocked eyes on the bigger man.
"Oh, you didn't hear? Simon was walking back from the Mayor's office, when some idiot tried to run him down, shouting obscenities at him. Simon managed to dodge, but fell down, and the guy rammed a building. Jim just happened to be coming back from lunch and saw the whole thing. He hauled the guy out and arrested him, then went with Simon to the hospital."
"Is Simon OK?" Worried.
"Yeah, broken arm is all. Nothing to worry about. Anyway, Jim took Simon home and then came back to finish up the paperwork. He's in a pretty foul mood. I'd be in no hurry to return home, if I were you."
"Thanks for the warning." They remained for a while longer.
"Want to go for a walk down by the pond, Erin?" Michael asked softly, leaning down to whisper in the freshman's ear.
"Why?"
"Well, we could feed the ducks. I've got some leftover fries, here."
"Oh, sure. Why not?" The party was loud, and the beer was flowing just a bit too freely for her tastes. She walked with Michael down toward the pond. Once away from the crowd and under the trees, Michael reached to put an arm around her shoulders. She ducked away from him. "No, Michael." Moving a couple of steps farther away from him. As they neared the pond, he tried again, reaching out for her. She again ducked away from him.
"I told you, NO, Michael. No means NO." She tried to turn back to the party, when he suddenly grabbed her and threw her to the ground, following her down, pinning her to the damp grass and trying to kiss her. She struggled violently, finally squirming away from him. Standing up, she tried to go past him, only for the much larger young man to grab her with one hand and backhand her with the other, snarling something about how much she'd like it. The blow was hard enough for her to lose her balance and fall, sliding down the slope to the pond, and into it.
By the time she was able to drag herself out of the water and up the slippery bank, Michael was nowhere to be seen. She stumbled up the slope, trying to wring the water out of her hair and clothes, shivering in the evening chill and using her blouse to try and wipe the blood from her bloody nose and split lip. She finally made it back to the outskirts of the party, she stayed under the cover of the trees, looking for...There he was, that sorry excuse for a man. She stalked up to him, grabbed his arm, spinning him around to face her, drew back her right hand and landed the prettiest right cross that anyone there had ever seen.
"You son of a bitch. The next time someone tells you no. You better believe they mean NO!" She turned away to leave, only to be confronted by one of her professors and another man. "Oh, Hi, professor Sandburg. Um..."
"Are you all right, Erin? What happened?"
"Well, he suggested we go feed the ducks, and I was foolish enough to believe him. He grabbed me and tried to kiss me, I told him no, but he grabbed me and threw me to the ground and fell on me. I managed to get away, but he grabbed me again and...and he...he...he hit m-m-m-me." The adrenaline was starting to wear off, and she was shaking, partly from cold, partly from shock. Blair took off his jacket and wrapped it around the sobbing girl's shoulders.
"Shh. It's OK. So, do you want to press charges?" Cautiously pulling the girl into a hug, to comfort her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him and cried. "Hey, it's OK. You're safe, now." Blair cast a helpless glance at Rafe, who was staring daggers at Michael.
"I'll call it in." Brian muttered, angrily. "Miss? Erin? Do you need to see a doctor?" Leaning down and gently asking. She just shook her head and continued to cry.
"Hey, guys. What's up? Chief?" Jim's timing, as usual, was impeccable. "Hey, what happened?"
"Somebody call the cops. I want her arrested!" Michael started shouting, when he regained consciousness and tried to get to his feet.
"I'm a cop. What's the trouble, here?" Jim asked, still puzzled.
"She...she broke my nose, man!" Trying to stem the tide of blood cascading down his face. Jim looked at the nearly six foot tall, hundred and sixty pound young man, then at the barely five foot four, maybe hundred pound girl. He was trying to stifle his grin. He gently pried her away from Blair to get a better look at her, and saw the split lip, puffy cheek, and signs of a nosebleed.
Blair and Brian both saw the famed Ellison jaws start to twitch, the muscles spasming as he ground his teeth. He straightened and turned back to the young man.
"Did you do this to her?" His voice soft, deadly. Anyone who knew him, and both Brian and Blair did (and cringed a little at the tone), knew that he was at his most dangerous when he was so soft spoken.
"Look at what she did to ME!" Whining.
"Did. You. Do. This. To. Her?"
"Nah, man. She fell down into the pond."
"After you hit me, you creep. I told you NO, and that means NO!"
"Miss, do you wish to press charges? Attempted rape, assault and battery?" Brian asked her, softly. She looked up at them, afraid.
"Should I?" Confused, as well.
"What about me?!" Michael whined again. One of the jocks at the party gave him a shove. "Hey!"
"Hey, yourself, you sorry sonofa...You've got to be twice her size, more. You hit her?" Several other jocks joined the first, surrounding Michael. Jim and Brian looked at each other.
"Let's get you to the clinic, OK, Erin?" Brian suggested, turning the girl away from what was about to happen behind them.
She looked up at the two very handsome men, then at her absolutely gorgeous professor, who still had his arm around her, supporting her and guiding her toward the parking lot. "Um..." Losing interest in the noises of fists hitting flesh coming from behind them.
"We should take you to the emergency room, get you checked out. See if you broke anything, or have a concussion, or something." Blair suggested.
"Um..."
"Yeah. Then we should take you home and make sure you're safe." Brian added.
"Um..."
"After which, you can decide if you want to press charges against that creep." Jim continued.
"Um..."
For some strange reason, Erin had a big goofy grin plastered across her face, as she allowed the three men to lead her away from the party.