Work Text:
Molly refused to let what Barney had done to her define her life. It wasn’t like she would ever forget how his violation of her felt, the stealing of something that should have been her choice, whether or not that choice had been perfect.
She’d never know now if it would have been a fizzling disappointment, a good memory or something else. Molly had certainly heard tales of all kinds from her friends and patients.
What had happened would always be with her, but she had life to live and she refused to let Barney take that. There were bad moments, of course, but they didn’t last.
Barney Dawson was a stupid, privileged creep. Son of one of the richest men in Brush Creek, coasting on his family’s reputation and money. Throw enough at most problems and they would go away. The Dawson’s lawyers had offered her money, but Molly had refused..
She was willing to let the past be the past as long as Barney stayed away from her. Maybe the family was secretly relieved. Either way, there’d been no objection to that being her only condition not to prosecute him. She’d heard of a few more cases over the years, but kept herself as far from the Dawson family as she could.
A lot of therapy helped her to figure out what she wanted to do with her life. The answer was a career as a nurse; an opportunity to try and\help people. It was a good living and most a good life. A few cases hit too close to home, but was able to get past them for the most part.
Then she met Amanda.
A newcomer to town, unaware of the influence of the Dawson family, she hadn’t been afraid to prosecute Barney for what he’d done to her. Amanda’s family supported her quest for justice and healing one hundred percent. They ended up interviewing Molly to see if she would be qualified to help Amanda recover from the injuries Barney had left her with.
The first time Molly walked into Amanda’s hospital room, she gasped. Barney’s brutality had... escalated was putting it mildly. Molly’s injuries had been mostly bruises and cuts, Amanda had suffered a broken arm and leg, and her head was bandaged. Molly looked at the chart and found she had been beaten after the rape. Her head injury was a slight concussion, but her arm had been shattered. Swallowing, Molly entered the room.
“Hello, I’m Molly Marlowe,” she said softly, not sure if Amanda was asleep.
“Amanda Fontaine,” was the soft answer. “I’d shake your hand but... this one doesn’t work and you’re on the wrong side.”
Molly couldn’t help but laugh softly. “Well, we can do that later. You know I’m here to see if we can work together. What do you need to know about me?”
“Do you think I’ll recover?” Amanda’s voice trembled slightly.
“I know you will. It might not be a full recovery, because we can’t predict how your bones will knit, but you’ll be functional and able to live your life,” Molly said. She’d consulted with Amanda’s doctor, so wasn’t giving her false hope, but she wanted Amanda to believe she could do it. Molly already believed in her – Amanda would have asked a different question if she hadn’t felt like she was capable of recovery.
“Perfect answer,” Amanda said, a soft smile crossing her lips. “You believe in me but don’t want to give false hope. You’re hired.”
“That was fast, but I am happy to work with you,” Molly answered.
“The last three nurses were...” Amanda paused. “They used platitudes and talked about strength. You answered me honestly.”
Molly knew exactly which three nurses Amanda had rejected, and while they were good at the work, she could already tell they wouldn’t have been right for Amanda’s case.
“For me, you gave the right question,” Molly said. “You believe you can recover but aren’t certain because... it was brutal, and I know that much. From your injuries,” she added, hastily. Now wasn’t the time to talk about exactly what she and Amanda had in common.
“I’m already starting to feel a little better, and I don’t think it’s all meds,” Amanda said. “Some, I’m sure, but inside me I feel better, you know?”
Molly knew. That had been the key to her own recovery. She did as much of an assessment as she could under the circumstances and then took a seat beside Amanda’s bed. They talked for a while until Amanda had to rest.
Molly was reading a journal as Amanda slept, and she heard her muttering in her sleep. She looked up, but Amanda hadn’t disturbed anything. Then her words became clearer.
“No!” she yelled and some other words, too low for Molly to hear. Then Amanda calmed and slept again.
It wasn’t the last nightmare Molly witnessed. Amanda would relive Barney’s attack almost every time she slept. Molly had done the same, but it seemed worse for Amanda.
“I wish I could stop him,” Amanda confided in Molly one day as she was doing her physical therapy exercises. “But this...” her arm dangled limply. “He’d just finish the job. He’s trying to wreck my reputation. Said I wanted it. When all he was doing was... was taking,” her voice trembled. “I don’t want him doing this to anyone else. He said he would.”
Barney had threatened Molly, of course. Likely the others who had let him get away with it. Amanda was one of too many, and that was just the women Molly knew about it. She couldn’t let him do this again. It wasn’t right.
That was the moment Molly formed a plan. She didn’t know how, but she was going to stop Barney Dawson. Permanently.
While Molly was working with Amanda, she also did a couple of shifts at Miller’s Clinic, because it was the clinic that had given her her start in nursing. Not to mention a certain family had nothing to do with it.
From time to time, a nurse from the clinic would be sent to the prison to administer to the prisoners. It wasn’t a shift Molly liked, and that was one more thing to blame Barney Dawson for, but she knew he was in prison. She also knew that, to say the least, he wasn’t taking it well. One rumor was that he was beaten up on a regular basis. Another said the chill of the prison had led him to develop pneumonia. A third – the one Molly hoped was true – was that someone had given Barney a taste of his own sick medicine. There were others, but most were ridiculous.
Taking that shift after some consideration, Molly began to stockpile something she could use against Barney. Small drops added up to a vial.
When she headed into the infirmary, she saw the look of relief on Barney’s face, and let her hatred shine through her eyes. He shivered and turned away. “Send another nurse,” he got out, coughing.
Molly didn’t listen to him. She got an injection ready, and made an excuse to the guard. It was one of the few times she’d used her beauty deliberately, and asking him for water seemed harmless enough. “Trust me,” Molly said. “He can’t do a thing the way he’s coughing.”
It was true, and Molly was fast. Injecting him with the drug, which wasn’t untraceable but would likely break down before an autopsy could be performed. Barney thrashed and groaned, and Molly resisted the temptation to list his sins. He knew them. He grew quiet and Molly’s eyes widened. She called out. “Oh god, I think he had a reaction to the drug, I think he’s dead!”
When the guard returned, Molly had resumed her professional mask. She looked upset, but gave the facts rationally. The guard didn’t blink, but he did smile, especially when Molly rested a hand on his shoulder.
There was a lot of paperwork and formalities, but once it was over, Molly felt free.
She went back to the Fontaines’ home and told Amanda that Barney was dead.
Amanda felt free as well, and soon she and Molly weren’t patient and nurse any more, but close friends. They encouraged each other into dating, which was a little harder for Molly as it had been so long. But with Amanda by her side, she could do anything and while not all her dates were the one – admittedly it would have been awkward if they were – she eventually found the right person and lived a good life, as did Amanda.