The Price Of Mercy [RATCHED X CAROL]

Chapter 1

CAROL'S POV
Carol wasn't entirely sure why she'd decided to drive to Lucia, true it had the advantage of being somewhere she'd never visited with Rindy and therefore wouldn't remind her of her, but then again so did over three quarters of the continent. For some unknown and potentially nonexistent reason she'd felt drawn to the area and, after deciding she'd spent too much of her life ignoring her instincts, decided to pay it a visit, which was how she'd ended up being interrogated in the reception of a dingy motel by a beady eyed woman wearing double her body weight in hideously clashing shawls and with leaches attached to her arms.

'Is that your daughter?'. Carol looked up from lighting her cigarette to find the receptionist leaning across the desk and leering and the photograph or Rindy she kept in her wallet.
'Yes but considering she's not going to be staying here I really don't see how that's any of your business.' Apparently unfazed by her brusque tone, the receptionist gleefully continued to pester Carol in a manner reminiscent of and yet somehow worse than Rindy in her terrible twos.
'So you have a daughter and yet you're traveling and staying alone. Was she born out of wedlock or have you and your husband separated? These are all standard questions, I simply need to know which box to tick.'
At this point Carol had had enough, she'd be driving for eight hours straight, the only service station she'd come across had been closed for renovations, and she hadn't had a decent coffee in over a week, the last thing she needed was this pestilent woman prying into her personal life. In the spilt second before Carol had the chance to berate the receptionist, a voice that was soft and feminine yet dripping with authority bore through the hostile and uncomfortable atmosphere created in the reception, immediately demanding the attention of both women.
'It truly does baffle me Louise, how your life must be so unfulfilling that it's only excitement derives from sticking your disturbingly large nose into the private matters of strangers who would rather hold a conversation with the leeches on your arm than with you. Now, if you would be so kind as to give me the key to this woman's room, I will spare her from enduring your presence any longer and show her to her room.'
Carol had to physically fight her jaw from dropping as she looked up to find herself side by side with a woman who could only be described as exquisite.

MILDRED'S POV
After being momentarily taken about by the beauty of the woman she had come to the rescue of, Mildred turned back to a giggling Louise who, thank heavens, was holding the key to a room only a few doors down from Mildred's own. Brown eyes met blue as Mildred and the blonde woman locked eyes, both unsure as to who should move first.
'Are you quite sure you know how to get to the room Miss Ratched?'
'Up yours Louise,' Mildred replied in the calm yet harsh tone she had perfected with years of practice, before abruptly picking up the woman's suitcase and walking out of the reception. She allowed herself a silent sigh of relief at the sound of heels briskly following her, she was not a woman who responded well to public humiliation.

Once outside, Mildred slowed down a little to allow the other woman to catch up with her.
'Thank you for coming to my rescue back there Miss...?'
Mildred quickly swallowed the small lump in her throat that arose when she heard the beautiful woman speak, before offering her her hand and offering her well rehearsed response,
'Ratched, Mildred Ratched.'
The blonde took Mildred's hand but, rather than her name, offered her a smile which, if she didn't know better, Mildred would have described as coy. Charmed as she was by this, however, Mildred was desperate to put a name to the face she was so taken with (not that there was anything unusual with one woman being taken by another, it was simply a level of appreciation that was unattainable by men).
'And yourself?' she prompted. After taking a long drag of her cigarette, the blonde looked up at her before introducing herself simply as
'Carol.' Normally, Mildred would have snapped at someone who had only given their Christian name but instead found herself telling Carol what a beautiful name she had before offering to take her bags for her and leading her to her room.

As Mildred opened to door to show Carol a dreary room identical to her own, she got a weird urge to apologise for it, despite the fact that it had nothing to do with her.
'It's not exactly luxury but you do get used to it.'
'Don't apologise dear, I've stayed in places a lot worse than this over the past week,' Carol said as she gracefully flopped onto the bed.
Dear?! Why would she call me that and why am I having to concentrate so hard on not blushing? No, stop, Mildred you're completely overthinking it, pet names are perfectly common within female friendships (are Carol and I friends now?) and that's not something you're used to which is why you were so disconcerted by it.

Having finished her internal monologue, Mildred began to wonder what Carol had meant by the second half of her statement. Surely a woman such as herself lived in luxury, both her attire and general demeanour implied she could afford to do so.
'Without sounding too much like Louise, may I ask what you mean by that?'
Carol let out a warm chuckle at that and Mildred felt a surge of pride which she thought might be at being the cause of such a beautiful sound but then she dismissed that thought entirely and instead decided she was just glad Carol didn't think she was like Louise.
'No that's quite alright, my husband and I are divorcing and in custody battle for my daughter. I won't bore you with the legal ins and outs of it all but essentially my husband has made it so I cannot see Rindy, my daughter, until our hearing in a couple of weeks so I decided to travel until then rather than just sit in my house alone.'
Despite never having had any particular fondness for children Mildred was filled with anger that this man had the audacity to keep Carol away from her daughter.

Gingerly sitting next to Carol, she briefly hesitated before placing her hand on top of her's as she felt her face settle into an expression of sympathy. Just as she was about to open her mouth to attempt to comfort her, Carol cut her off.
'Look Mildred I appreciate whatever it is you were going to say but I'm alright. I have no feelings whatsoever for Harge, my husband, and quite honestly I don't believe I ever really did. Rindy, on the other hand, is the light of my life, however there is nothing I can do until the hearing so I see no reason to torture myself by dwelling on it.'
It dawned on Mildred then that she actually really admired other woman. Up until that point the only people Mildred had considered brave were the other nurses (or, more accurately, the actual nurses) she had worked with during the war, and yet it was perfectly clear to her that Carol was, in her own way, incredibly brave. Mildred knew the societal scorn unmarried women received and so could only imagine how it would react to divorce, particularly when a child was involved. She assumed Carol was in this situation because of either self respect or a desire for independence, being a great admirer or both of these things, Mildred wracked her brains for some way, however small, in which she could help Carol.
'I would offer to take you on a tour of the area however I've been so busy with work that I hardly know it myself. I'm a nurse,' she added after seeing the inquisitive look on Carol's face.
'I do actually finish mid afternoon tomorrow, however, perhaps we could explore the area together?'

CAROL'S POV
Carol couldn't help but grin when she heard Mildred's suggestion and quickly agreed as she could see her start to second guess herself. For the seventh time since they'd met, Carol glanced down at Mildred's ring finger, confirming to herself that it was in fact still empty.
Gosh I'm as bad as Abby!

She was drawn out of her thoughts at the sound of Mildred stifling a yawn.
'Long day at work?' she asked. Mildred nodded before giving Carol a slightly sleepy smile that she thought was absolutely adorable. Having seen the way she spoke to Louise, and presumably to everyone else, Carol felt incredibly privileged that Mildred allowed her to see this softer side to her. She knew she mustn't get ahead of herself though, Mildred was a nurse for goodness sake! She'd be much more likely to administer some kind of horrible treatment on someone like Carol than to be the same way inclined.
See, Carol knew this, and yet when Mildred yawned again and left to go to her own room, but not before wishing Carol a good night's sleep and confirming their plans for the next day, she couldn't stop the warmth in her chest nor the butterflies in her stomach any more than she could stop the smile from creeping onto her face.

Carol's smile stayed etched on her face as she changed into her pyjamas and laid down to sleep, thinking, against all her better judgements, of the auburn hair and chocolate brown eyes of Mildred Ratched.