DISCLAIMERS:

Violent Content Warning: This story contains scenes of violence.

Alternative Content Warning: This story also contains scenes of a loving relationship between two women. This story is not for those under the age of eighteen.

Uber Warning: This story is an uber. The two characters are based off of the leading ladies of XENA WARRIOR PRINCESS.

Author’s Notes: This is the fourth installment to my ‘Hero’ series. All POSITIVE comments are welcome. Negatives I will simply ignore. Send your thoughts to startrek@ellijay.com.

Be Her Hero

By: Teagen2

I felt arms come around me as I washed off my breakfast plate. "Morning." Cody whispered into my ear. She reached for my left hand and kissed my birthday present. I was stunned by the ring, but I insisted she wear the pendent. Cody still hasn’t told me exactly what she paid for it.

"Morning, Babe." I turn in her arms and face. Looking down, I notice something. I looped my fingers into her jeans and pulled upward. They are so loose, that I can pull them up easily. "Cody, are you feeling okay?"

"Why?"

"Look." I repeat the motion. "You’re losing weight." Her jeans are normally a comfortable fit, not loose.

"I’ve been working harder lately. Maybe that’s it."

"Have you been eating at work?" I know she doesn’t eat a whole lot when she’s home.

"Yes." she sighs. "You can call Kyle and ask him if you want."

"I don’t need to do that....Have a good day at work."

"Ummm." She gives me my kiss goodbye.

Its been hard on Cody these last few weeks. She has adjusted at work to lighter duties. Her back gives her trouble too often to ignore. Dr. Farly told her last week that if any more damage is done, he’ll have to operate. I shutter at the thought. Cody received a settlement from the city for negligence. It seems some of her injury occurred from being pulled from the car like she was. She used the money to pay off the house and our vehicles. She really didn’t want it, but her lawyer suggested we take it. Needless to say, she is permentantly banned from doing any heavy lifting. It makes me tear up to think of Cody not playing flag football with the guys at the hardware store anymore. It was her favorite pastime until the accident. Now, some days she’ll come home and she can’t even get her shoes off.

The phone saved me from further torture. "Hello?"

"Hey. Yeah she just left."

"Can I come over for a sec?" Strange. Rachel and I are friends, but this sounded like a

serious conversation...and its probably about Cody.

"Sure. Come on over. Is everything okay?"

"Not exactly." she sighed.

"Well, come on over." I heard the click as she hung up. Now I’m worried.

Rachel lives only eight minutes away. She stepped into the living room, minus the smile she always had. I motioned for her to take a seat. "What’s up?"

"Has Cody mentioned me since yesterday?"

"No, why?"

"We had a huge fight." she sighed, leaning back on the couch.

"About?"

"I told her I was worried about her. Haven’t you noticed?" I shook my head no.

"Cody, leaves in the morning and doesn’t come back until about seven." I knew that sounded lame. I live with her. She’s my girlfriend, but obviously her friend picked up on something that I didn’t.

"She’s been acting a little...weird. She came over to bring the saw blade that Jason wanted from the hardware store. She looked like hell. I asked her if she was all right and she told me to mind my own business. I asked her why she was so defensive. Cody was really acting strangely. Running her fingers through her hair every five seconds, pacing. Mason, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was high on something."

"Cody doesn’t use drugs!" I immediately took up for my love.

"I know that, Mason. I’ve been her friend for ten years, since high school." she countered. I had to admit Rachel knew Cody as well as I did, or better.

"I’m sorry, but she doesn’t. Did you ask her?"

"No, she already bellowed at me about just asking her if she was okay. Maybe it was just a bad day at work yesterday." Rachel reasoned. "Maybe I’m just being silly."

"You’re probably right." I agreed. "I’ll just keep an eye on her." Rachel stood.

"If you need any help, let me know okay?"

"Okay, thanks Rach."

Cody came home around three. She went towards the back of the house and returned. She dropped onto the couch next to me. "Hi." She reached over and gave me a soft kiss. I smiled and wrapped an arm around her, giving her a quick hug. "Wanna go shoot some pool?"

"Sure, let me grab my coat." Cody was now dressed in a black, long sleeved shirt. Which, by the way, was left out of her black jeans. I smelled her cologne as she stepped past me out the door.

We arrived at The Bar around four. It was not packed, but it wasn’t slow either. It was during our second game, when things turned bad. I was bending over the table to make a shot, when I felt two hands rub my butt and then pinch it. I gasped because I knew it wasn’t Cody. She standing on the other side of the table, watching me. I looked up and saw Cody throw her cue onto the table and move around it. Grabbing a giggling, drunk man, who I assumed was the culprit. Without saying a word to him, Cody grabbed him by the collar and began to pummel the man with her fist. "Cody!" I reached over and tried to separate the man from her. "Cody, stop it!" I had to stand directly in-between them before she would stop.

I was angrier than she was I think. That was the first time in my life I was ‘thrown out’ of anymore. Cody and I are banned for thirty days. If they barred everyone that started a fight, they wouldn’t have any business. I slammed the door a little harder than I intended too. "Cody, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"What?" She spun around at my words.

"You just started hitting that guy."

"He fondled your ass, Mason. You’re my girlfriend..."

"I know that, Cody. Couldn’t you just leave it with a verbal warning or something?" She threw her arms up and started to walk away. She was boiling. "Cody.." She yanked her arm away from me. "Look at me." She kept trying to walk away. "Look at me damn it!" I spun her around, astonished at what I saw. "This isn’t just about tonight. You lost your temper with Rachel and with your boss."

That call I received the day before, but I didn’t link to this until just now. Mr. Henderson said Cody lost her temper with a customer and then with him. "The only thing that kept him from writing you up, is the fact you were having a bad day...These aren’t your eyes, Cody."

"Then whose are they?" she grinned wickedly at me. I started to cry. "Cody, please.

What’s wrong? You can tell me."

"Let go of me, Mason." She succeeded in pulling away this time, but I followed her back to our bedroom. She opened the bi fold doors on the closet.

"I love you. You know that." I said quietly. I saw her run her fingers through her hair, grabbing a handful.

"Just get out, Mason."

I left her in the bedroom. I didn’t want to, but I was afraid she might get even more upset with me if I stayed. I guess I’ll be sleeping the guest room tonight. I cried until my head began to ache. I timidly knocked on our door. "Can I have a nightshirt?" I asked through the door.

"Come in." I cautiously opened the door. The lights were out except for the master bath. She was sitting up in bed, watching TV. I looked at her. Cody kept her eyes directly on the screen, instead of looking at me. Her jaw clenched. She’s still angry. I walked over to the bureau and grabbed my nightshirt from the top.

"I’ll be in the guest room if you need me." She didn’t respond to me. She just continued to stare at the TV "I love you." She surprised me by looking over at me, making eye contact. Though, she said nothing.

I awoke sore and to the feeling of being caressed. I opened my eyes and saw that I had fallen asleep on the couch last night. Cody was sitting on the floor, rubbing her hand down my side. This is a good sign. I yawned, sat up, then stretched. "I don’t know what got into me last night, Mason. I’m sorry."

"Cody," I stood with her. "is there something wrong?"

"No, nothing’s wrong. I’ve just had a few bad days that’s all. I’m sorry I got us kicked out yesterday night."

"Are you sure?"

"That I’m sorry?"

"No, that your alright?"

"I’m fine." she smiled. "And I am sorry." She reached forward and gave me a hug and a peck on the cheek. "I’ve got the day off today. To make up for last night, we’ll do whatever you want to do, my treat."

"How about popping some popcorn and watching a few movies?"

"Sounds good to me."

Just as we always do, we fell asleep in each other’s arms after several hours. We may be speaking again, but I am not convinced Cody is okay. It was close to late afternoon when I went into the hallway bathroom to brush my teeth. Unable to find my floss, I opened the medicine cabinet. Cody has a habit of putting it in there. I saw it behind one of the medicine bottles. I tried to reach around it, but my hand bumped it causing it to tumble into the sink. "Damn." I cursed as I began to pick up the little pink pills, some were lost down the drain. As I was doing this, I realized that I didn’t recognize the medicine. I looked on the label. It was Cody’s. Reading on, I saw that it was pain medication. "Wait a minute." I said to myself. This wasn’t from Dr. Farly. It was from some other doctor I hadn’t heard of. I emptied one of the pills into my hand. It looked harmless enough. A gelcap of some kind, pink in color. I sniffed it, not much of a smell to it, though it reminded me of aspirin.

I heard Cody coming down the hall. I quickly picked up the remaining pills and put the bottle back into the cabinet, closing the door before she came in. "Getting ready for bed?"

"Yeah." I said, trying to put on a smile. "I’m gonna take a shower." Trying to think of an excuse to get out of the line of fire, "Did you wash any towels today?"

"Their in the dryer. I’ll go get you one."

"No, I’ll go." I hurried past her. I rounded the corner out of sight. Then, I peaked around the corner. I watched as Cody opened the medicine cabinet, took out the floss, then the bottle. She opened it and popped several pills into her mouth, swallowing them. I ran down the hall, grabbed a towel, and ran back. By the time I came back Cody was brushing her teeth. "Back hurting?" I asked innocently.

"Nah, not much." She spit the toothpaste out and rinsed her mouth.

I took a deep breath. How was I going to confront her? She already blew up in Rachel’s face once. Maybe that was part of the problem. Those pills are probably responsible for her mood changes. She was getting to be skin and bones. Is my girlfriend an addict? I always thought Cody had more control than that. She’s always been the strong one. Always been there when I needed her. Something inside me said, Be her hero. Easier said than done. Was this stuff even legal? I could get her in trouble with this. Now she was acting like Cody, but like last night, I don’t know who she is anymore. I’m almost positive that its those pills or some other kind of influence. Either way, I can’t let her stay this way. Should I risk losing her? "You’re awful quiet." she smiles, chucking water in my direction. I couldn’t help but smile. It can wait till tomorrow I think. No sense in ruining the mood she was in.

I awoke alone and it was still early, even for Cody. I sat up, grabbing my sweatpants and slipping them on. I found her watching T.V. in the living room, covered with sweat.

"Baby, you okay?" She was startled at my voice. "Sorry."

"Yeah, I’m think I’m getting sick. Couldn’t sleep either.

"Are you working this morning?"

"I called Mr. Henderson. I’m staying home today." She took a sip from the glass she had.

"Go back to bed." Her voice had that edge in it again. Now or never.

I walked into the bathroom, retrieved the mystery bottle, and returned with it. "Why are you taking these?" Her head shot over quickly, looking me wide eyed. She stood and moved to me, snatching the bottle out of my hand. I think I picked a bad time. Her eyes.

"Stay out of my stuff. Its for my back."

"Then why are being so defensive? Where did you get those?"

"None of your business." She sat back down, placing the bottle on the coffee table in front of her.

"Are you doing anything other than those pills?"

"No, Mason. Just drop it okay."

"Cody, listen to me. You got those from a different doctor. Those pills could be interacting with the other stuff you take." The anger was plain on her face, even as I kept

my voice calm and rational.

"Leave it alone, Mason." she warned.

"No." I said a little loudly. "Look at you. This is not my Cody."

"I wasn’t aware that you owned me." She shot daggers at me.

"You know what I mean. Your suffering for this. Stop taking those." I gestured at the bottle on the table.

"Don’t tell me what to do!" she screamed, causing me to jump back slightly. "I said leave it alone! What part of ‘Keep your damn nose outta my business’ didn’t you understand?!"

"Calm down, Baby." She had started to move towards me, but stopped.

In a move I knew would cause more conflict, I grabbed the bottle off of the table. I felt her hands grab me, just as I grabbed the bottle. Cody wasn’t hurting me, just holding me in place, but I wormed my way free. "Give it to me." she said calmly. I bolted back towards the hallway bathroom. She was right on my heels. I shut the door, just as she caught up to me, trapping her on the other side. I locked it. "Baby, open the door. I’m sorry." she pleaded. I heard her bang on the door in an attempt to get me to open it. "Mason, open the door. I’m not mad." I knew better than. I looked down at the pills in my hand. I felt anger. Anger for what this stuff has done to my Cody. Not thinking about the consequences, I emptied the bottle into the toilet and flushed it. "Mason! Open the door!"

I don’t know long its been since I flushed those pills. Cody had stopped banging on the door. I stayed curled up on the cold bathroom floor, the rug gave me a little relief. I was scared to go out until I knew Cody was over her latest spell of aggressiveness. I wish there was a phone in here. I could call her doctor and Rachel. I had no idea whether she just gave up and went back to the bedroom or living room, or whether she was sitting on the other side of the door, waiting for me to come out. I know it sounds stupid, but I actually thought about crawling out of the small window above the toilet. I was reasonably certain I could fit through it. What would the neighbors think if they saw me crawling out of a window? No, I had to face this, face Cody. This is my lover, my hero. She would never hurt me, but that monster might. I spent my life hiding from Debbie, but she never scared me half as much as this monster has.

I slowly stood on shaky legs. I tiptoed quietly to the door and put my ear to it. The door was not very thin, it was solid, but you could still make out the noises on the other side. Should I whisper her name before I open it, to see if she’s out there or just open it? I opted to just open it. I took a deep breath to steady my beating heart. I opened the lock very slowly to avoid giving myself away. I cracked the door and listened. Peaking out the space I just made, I saw that the coast was clear towards the living room. I decided not to bolt out, but just ease out. If I had to, I can run straight through the living room and out the front door. I opened the door far enough to get my head through and look behind the door. She was not there either. I breathed a sigh of relief and opened the door all the way. Taking a second to think, I headed for our bedroom to change. There is also a phone in there. As I moved down the hall, I didn’t hear any sound. Not one TV was one, no radio, nothing. Maybe she left this morning after all. The entire house was silent. Our bedroom door was wide open. I stuck my head in, finding it empty. Either she is not here or she was in the living room or kitchen. In either case, I changed out of my shorts and put on a pair of blue jeans.

I walked to the mirror. Man, was I mess. I grabbed my brush and fixed my messy hair. Glancing at the clock, I saw that I was in the bathroom for three hours and it was now nine A.M. I looked down at the bureau, placing my palms on it and took a deep breath. Our relationship is never going to be the same after this. Hell, my life will never be the same after this. I looked up to the mirror...and screamed. Cody was standing behind me holding up the now empty bottle. "What did you do?" she hissed at me. I spun around to face her.

"I..I.." I stuttered, not being able to form words.

"What did you do?" she repeated.

"I flushed them." She grabbed my wrist.

"Why!" I yanked myself free and ran, but this time, she caught me. "Why did you do that?" I turned and faced her.

"THIS! This is why! Cody, I don’t know you when your like this!"

"I needed these." I started to hear the desperation in her voice. She ran her fingers through her hair.

"You don’t need them, Baby." I pleaded. "You need help, Cody." She sputtered a breath through her lips.

"Help?" she laughed. "All I want is my medicine."

"We’ll get you some different medicine? Okay?" She grabbed me again. Instead of fighting, I let her yank me around.

"Just what am I supposed to do in the mean time?!" she screamed in my face. Just then we both heard a timid knock on our front door. Then it opened. It was Jamie the paper boy. Damn, I was supposed to pay him this morning. He took one look at me being held by Cody.

"Are you alright, Ms. Connery?"

"Beat it!" Cody screamed. The boy didn’t move. Cody shoved me away and moved towards the twelve year old. "Get outta my house!" He was confused to say the least.

Cody is one of his best friends in the neighborhood. She’s all the time playing tag or having water gun fights with him and the other kids. He just didn’t understand why Cody was coming at him like a bully.

"Cody?"

"Go Jamie!" I yelled before Cody could reach him. By her posture, I knew she was only going to take him by the arm and lead him out of the house, but I didn’t want to risk any trouble with the boy’s parents. Luckily he left that time. She slammed the door shut, turned, and walked back towards me. "Look at yourself, Cody! That was Jamie!" Her face softened a bit and she started to cry, but she was still coming towards me. I closed my eyes and swung. I felt my fist connect with something solid. I drop to my knees. "Oh baby." Her nose was bleeding. "I’m so sorry." I wiped at the blood. She looked up with sad eyes. I knew then this episode was over. With two words, I knew everything was going to be okay.

"Help me."

It was the longest four hours of my life. Dr. Farly said it was indeed a drug interaction that caused her ‘explosive aggression’ as he calls it, along with her lack of appetite. Cody told him her back was getting harder and harder to ignore, so she went on her lunch break from work last week, to the only doctor that could see her on short notice, and got the new medicine. I don’t why she didn’t tell me. But before she knew it, not only was it interacting with her other meds, she was hooked to the point of taking several everyday. Whether she needed them or not.

I was allowed to see her for a few minutes before she was going to be admitted to the hospital. She was pretty much out of it, but she did say that she was sorry and that she loved me. I am not allowed to see her while she is being treated, but I can call her and vise versa. Even though I was driving home without her, I pale to think what would have happened if I didn’t say something. I feel like a heel for ‘turning her in’, but it was definitely for her own good. I know that now. My car phone was ringing. "Hello?"

"I know, but its only for a week or so."

"The food sucks." I smiled. That’s my Cody.

"You hang in there. Just remember I love you."

"Let’s put that behind us, okay? You just get better for me and come home."

"I love you, too. Feel better."

"At the stroke of midnight." I smiled. "See ya then..Bye."

I couldn’t help but feel I have a part in this too. The accident was caused by my ex. If Cody hadn’t hurt her back, we wouldn’t be going through this now. But the time for blame has passed. Cody and I will get through this. I know it. I can safely say that I’m her hero this time.