Aftermath
by Adriana Pena
It was over, Barnabas thought. It was finally over.
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Judah Zachary was gone, his curse nullified. The catastrophe that engulfed Collinwood never came to pass, and Barnabas was finally free of his vampire curse. He could have a new life. He could finally plan for a future.
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So what did he want to do?
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As he pondered the question, he heard the door open, and saw Julia
come in. The expression on her face told him there was new trouble
ahead.
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“What happened?” he asked.
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“I found this in my desk at Wyncliffe.”
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Your case of breach of medical ethics has been brought before the Maine Board of Licensure in Medicine.
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“Julia...”
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“It is handwritten, not typed. There was no envelope, and I know the handwriting.”
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He almost asked whose handwriting it was, but the anger and hatred lurking behind her eyes stopped him. The incident referred to in the letter was something for which she never truly forgave him, just did her best to forget. But now forgetting was not allowed.
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“It cannot be,” he said lamely.
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“But it is.” A voice sounded firmly. A voice he thought he'd never hear again. “She is under the jurisdiction of the Board, whose agent I am in this case.”
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It was Dave Woodard, looking sternly at Julia. “Julia Hoffman, you have broken the code that medical doctors live by. You have been judged and found guilty.” His voice was dry, emotionless, and behind it was a faint rustle, as paper being shuffled.
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“Dave, I have to explain; let me—”
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“Words have no value in this; only deeds count. What deeds can you offer before sentence is passed against you?”
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“I know that you want to punish me for assisting in your death.”
“No, I could not judge my own case; such are the rules and I abide by them. But I can pass judgment in the cases of patients you abused and betrayed, against your oath. I have helped pass judgment on unethical doctors before, and I would have passed judgment on more if I had been able to. I would have passed judgment on Eric Lang. My connection to the Board allows me one last judgement in your case. For the Board has projection beyond the plane you are in, and when needed, judgements and sentences are passed out.”
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Julia sighed. He looked into the eyes of the man she had murdered and
found them stern and cold. And behind them there was a hint of boredom and routine. She recognized what it meant.
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Dave represented a bureaucracy, and had the power of such behind him. The noise in the background was the endless rustling of papers being shuffled, stamped, and filed away. She shuddered. She knew what she was going up against.
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“All I can offer is my deeds since then—our deeds. The enemies we fought, the tragedies we averted.”
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“Yes, the Leviathans and Zachary. Yes, you and your friend provided a balance against them. But now they are gone, and you are the ones that disrupt the balance. So, in order for balance to be restored, you must be dealt with. Once this is done, normality will be achieved in Collinsport at last.”
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In spite of herself, a sob broke in Julia's throat. Barnabas advanced, and put his arms protectively around her. “Leave her alone.”
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“I do not know yet if we have jurisdiction over you.” Dave answered him. He then turned to Julia. “How was it that he did not kill you when you discovered what he was?”
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“I—I told him that if he killed me, Maggie would remember who had kidnapped her.”
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“I see. So, he did not corrupt you; you were already corrupt when you contacted him.” He turned to Barnabas again “We have no jurisdiction over you, only her. Consider yourself lucky you do not have to deal with La Migra.”
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“La Migra?”
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“The Immigration Service.”
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“What does it have to do with me?”
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“You claim to come from England. Please show your passport or your green card.”
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“You know I do not have them.”
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“You'd be an illegal alien and the Immigration Service would hold you, pending a hearing on your case. But there would never be a hearing, because once you are locked up, all the paperwork connected to your case would disappear.”
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“You could not do that.”
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“The Board belongs to the world of bureaucracy and paperwork, so it can. It would be a life sentence for you, but as we have no jurisdiction, it will not happen. Other ways will be found to align you with the balance. But she,” he indicated Julia. “She is in our power.”
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“You will judge her?”
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“She has already been judged, and sentence has been passed. We are here to notify her of it.”
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“You will not let me explain myself?” It was frightening to hear the voice of Julia pleading. She, always so sure of herself, was now trembling.
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“You could try,” Dave shrugged. “But the fact remains that every word out of your mouth is a lie, including AND and THE.”
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“That is not fair!”
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“Julia, you are a liar.”
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“It was my fault!” Barnabas said. “I forced her to do it.”
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“But you just testified that she was corrupt when she met you. Yes, you have a lot to answer for, but not for her corruption.”
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“What will you do to her?”
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“Here is the one who judged her and passed sentence on her.”
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There was another figure next to him, a woman, dressed in Victorian clothes. Then voices were heard:
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“Women do not belong in medicine.” “They are overly emotional.” “They have no logic.” “Their delicate constitution cannot handle the hard work.” “They are too flighty.” “They throw all over when they fall in love.”
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Words that Julia had heard too often when she was studying. Defiantly, she threw back, “Women can be as competent as men, if not more.”
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“Yes. That's what I fought for.” The newcomer said “As I became the first woman to earn a medical degree in this country.”
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“Doctor Elizabeth Blackwell!” Julia said. “I followed in your footsteps.”
“But not well. You made each of those false accusations true. You certainly do not belong in medicine. For the sake of an impossible love, you betrayed your patients and your oath. The next time someone says that women do not belong in medicine, they only need to point at you.”
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“It was not like that.”
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Dave chuckled. “Tell me, Julia, is our friend here that good in bed, that you threw your ethics overboard for his sake?”
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“We are friends, good friends,” Barnabas said defensively.
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“Meaning you never took her to bed, no matter how much she wanted, and how much she helped you? Not even a sympathy fuck?” Dave snickered at him.
“Doctor, there is no need to use such language,” Elizabeth Blackwell reprimanded him.
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“You are right, there is no need.”
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“At this moment, young women are still fighting those ugly words and ideas. And you, should you be discovered, will make it harder for them,” Elizabeth told Julia.
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“I realize that.” Julia said, bending her head. It was true. All the lies she had told herself could no longer be believed.
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“But there is a way,” Dave said. “A way available to me through the powers we have in the world of bureaucracy. It will not matter if you are discovered or not, because you are not a doctor, you were never a doctor.”
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“But I am!”
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“As of this moment, there is not a single record of you attending medical school, much less getting a degree from one. The Board has erased them all. In the eyes of the law, you are a fraud, practicing medicine without a degree. What matters then if you are found out? Your actions cannot harm those young women who take medical studies.”
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“Yes, Miss Hoffman, this is the best solution. You are a fraud, and must flee to avoid detection and imprisonment.”
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“You have seventy two hours to leave Maine. If you are still here after that, you will be arrested. And whatever life you make for yourself—and you will, given your gift for lying your way out of situations—remember, if you make even one diagnostic, or write one prescription, you will be arrested. Leave Julia, while you still can. Prison uniforms can be SO unattractive.”
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“Please...” Julia began to form a plea, come up with an explanation, a promise.
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“Seventy two hours, not one second more.” Elizabeth Blackwell said, and they both vanished.
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“What are we going to do?' Barnabas said.
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“You heard it. I am leaving. I will be out of Maine in two days, and I will have someone to represent me for the sale of Wyncliffe, and all my property.”
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“Julia....”
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“I gave you enough, but I am not going to give you my future. Not for someone who could not even give me a sympathy fuck, as Dave put it. You cost me too much.”
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“We can fight this.”
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“No, we can't. You haven't got the first idea of what we would be going up against. I have dealt with enough paperwork and bureaucratic obstruction. I cannot win against it. They got me good, but gave me a second chance.”
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Barnabas was astonished at the coldness in her voice. “Julia, after all we have been through, after all we faced, after...”
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“After you got my services free of charge, taking advantage of my love for you. And you exploited it, and used it, and thought you were due my help, and that throwing some crumbs in my direction would be enough. Well your crumbs are not enough for me to go to jail. It is time I took care of myself.”
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“So much that we have seen and endured.”
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“Because I did not realize what the price would be. Now I know. Do you know how hard I worked to get my degree? Do you know the obstacles they threw in my path because I was a woman? Oh, I loved getting my degree. I loved being Julia Hoffman M.D. Well, now I am not. I have been kicked out of the profession. Because of you I will have to make do. Write a diet book. Pose as a spiritual leader, open a natural food shop...God, I am no longer a doctor, and it is all your fault!”
Barnabas stared astonished at the door that she had slammed behind her. “After all we went through...how could she?'
“Because until now, she never lost anything she cared about.” Woodard said, returning with a smile, not a nice one. “Yes, you remember all that she sacrificed for your sake? All that she gave up?”
“Yes. I made her do things...”
“Things she wanted to do, anyway, and you served as an excuse. She did not care about giving up her professional ethics. She jettisoned them a long time ago. She did not care about giving up the running of Wyncliffe. It had become routine to her by then, while you offered all kind of wild adventures....My life, well, she did not care for me that much either. It cost her nothing to give up all she did for your sake. But take away her degree, her chance to do all her experiments, all the society recognition, being treated with awe and admiration...those she did not think she would lose. Well, now she lost them, and you weren’t worth it.”
Barnabas sank down on a chair. “What cruel fate is this?”
“No, please don't start on your self-pitying soliloquies. You have no idea how annoying they are. Do you want to know how much? Listen to the song.”
Through the air came the sound and lyrics of Weird Al Yankovic's Achy Breaky Song.
You can torture me
With Donnie & Marie,
You can play some Barry Manilow,
Or you can play some schlock
Like New Kids on the Block,
Or any Village People song you know,
Or play Vanilla Ice
Hey, you can play him twice,
And you can play the Bee Gees any day.
But Mr. DJ, please,
I'm beggin' on my knees,
I just can't take no more of Billy Ray.
Don't play that song,
That "Achy Breaky" song
The most annoying song I know.
And if you play that song,
That "Achy Breaky" song,
I might blow up my radio, oh…
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When the song ended, Woodard smiled again at Barnabas. “And you are more annoying than that.”
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Barnabas sighed. “What do you want? I am in your power now.”
“I told you, I have no jurisdiction over you. But a word of advice: Willie is beginning to remember certain things. I would give him a good share of the jewels and tell him to go wherever he wants, before he remembers how to hire a hit man.”
“I know I treated him shamefully.”
“Yes, you did, but do not bother to give excuses or explanations. I no power over him, anyway, so he will do whatever he does. He might yet put a contract on you if he remains here too long.”
“And Maggie?”
“Julia will be paying Maggie’s way through college. That was part of the deal Julia got not to be arrested. As the doctor who betrayed her, she has to make amends.”
“And that's it. Today I lost my best friend, my servant, a good portion of my money. I am alone again, and the woman I loved is dead...”
The Achy Breaky Song came out again.
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“I forgot to tell you. Each time you go into one of self-pitying rants, you will hear this song. Call it a parting gift from me. And really, you now mourn Angelique, the woman who caused the death of your sister? You were so touching the way you wept and called for Sarah. And now you mourn her murderess. Well, any excuse for a self-pity party is good, isn't it?”
“It is not... It is... complicated.”
“Yadda, yadda, yadda.”
And then he vanished, leaving Barnabas with his head buried in his hands, while The Achy Breaky Song went on and on.
They had vanquished Zachary, and there were no more threats in Collinwood. So Barnabas and Julia were ready for a new life, but old debts have to be paid first, and it will NOT be pretty for either of them. But at least no one will download Windows10 on them…
Barnabas/Julia, Dave Woodard. Warning: Explicit language.
Adriana Pena was an early fan from the Kathleen Resch zine stable where she published several stories. When not writing computer programs, she authored a 51-volume continuation of Dark Shadows. Adriana is also a political commentator in Annapolis where her fan activities are a secret. She went on a long hiatus due to personal and professional problems, but fortunately, has now returned. She is currently working on a DS reboot at Fanfiction.net, writing under the name Maryland Rose.