Safety Net in a Chaotic World (Trudy, OC: pre-canon)

[Ashen Key]

TITLE: Safety Net in a Chaotic World
CHARACTERS: Trudy Chacon, OFC
RATING: PG/M
WORDS: 2756
WARNINGS: Deals with aftermath of sexual assault, although what happened is never said in detail.
A/N: Written for the “A Picture is Worth 1000 Words: A Multifandom Comment Fic Meme”, hosted by igrockspock on livejournal. Title comes from the Carol Saline quote, 'Sisters function as safety nets in a chaotic world simply by being there for each other'
SUMMARY: There are a number of people for whom Trudy would get on a train in the middle of the night for; her younger sister is at the top of that list. But getting on that train also means that something is wrong.

Safety Net in a Chaotic World @ FFn :: AO3

EXTRACT:

Trudy saw the cops before the tulips. A group of five, sitting at two tables pushed together in front of the only café that was still open. Not cops doing anything much, Trudy noticed with a sharp relief, just drinking coffee and eating something that could be breakfast, could be dinner, could just be a bite of something because it's four in the freaking morning and their shift was over, part-way through, just starting, whatever. Beyond them, sitting front of a closed kiosk with vases of synthetic yellow tulips behind the mesh, was Frankie. Head bowed, shoulders hunched, cradling a cup of something. Probably coffee. Aside from Frankie, the cops, and the two people at the café, the place was pretty much deserted.

"Hey Frankie-Bell," Trudy said once she was close enough, and Frankie looked up. Her eyes were reddened, as was the skin on her neck, as if someone had tried to strangle her. Someone – the same someone? a different one? – had also made sure that Frankie's jaw was going to have a real beauty of a bruise.

"Trudy," Frankie breathed with a brilliant grin, barely remembering to leave her cup on the table as she sprung to her feet and lunged towards her. Trudy was in just enough shock – who the f*ck hurt my little sister, someone had their hands around her throat, what the f*ck, I need to kill that son of a b*tch – that there was a moment to delay from being hugged to hugging back. "Hi," Frankie was saying, husky voice chipper, perky, let's fake being fine because I'm utterly fine. "Sorry about the time of night, I just, um, needed to call someone, and my roomie has an exam tomorrow, I mean today, and-"

“You explained, it's fine. I got insomnia anyway.” Both of which was true, but even if Trudy hadn't already been awake, she would have rolled out of bed and ran when called. Particularly when Frankie had sounded like she had, pissed off and terrified all at once.