#and he would be helping her in a wheelchair and she’d be like it’s rotten work

[sadcoms]

i know we talk a lot about how close the doctor was to giving in after the satan pit but i’ve also seen people say it’s good that the doctor never had to see rose age and like. not only does that fundamentally mischaracterise the doctor’s actual reaction to sarah jane in school reunion and the tenth doctor’s own actual desires, it also seems to misunderstand what giving in actually entails.

because for him giving in means accepting that rose is going to die and deciding to let them be together anyway. that is what he is actually mourning post-doomsday, the fact that she is essentially dead and he didn’t get to spend enough time with her or love her as fully as he wanted to.

you cannot tell me that he wasn’t going to let rose travel with him post-journey’s end if there hadn’t been the metacrisis doctor, or that he was just going drop her off when she was fifty because oh no she has wrinkles now. that little giggle he does when she says “so i could come back” is the sound of an alien’s mind being overwhelmed with images of decades of hand-holding and he knows losing all of that is going to shatter him. but he’s also been without rose now and he knows which pain he’d prefer.

and rose could die at 100 and he could be about to regenerate from old age and he would still be back on the powell estate on january 1, 2005, ready to say goodbye even as part of him starts all over again.

[mugunghwc]

“Well, I dare to believe that this will remain a one time thing,”  Jiro voiced, while he kept petting Taro, whose reactions kept a steady smile on Jiro’s features.  “I’m honestly surprised, you went to such place again,”  he admitted and looked rather questioning towards her, wondering what possibly prompted her, apart of the influence of her weird friend. They looked like the opposite of each other, with Fang being the rotten version.  “Huh?”  Somehow he had to chuckle, when she already thanked him.  “You can thank me, once I am done with them,”  he smiled and helped her to get Taro into her arms, before patting his suit clean of the many hairs the cat had already left on him. Jiro would simply wave his goodbyes, possibly at his limit of finding the right words, or fearing it could sound too sappy from his side, a role he left to Rei. 

She had forgotten Taro, who sadly did not find any interest in Fang at the moment, considering there had been no food from anyone so far. Fang really wanted to lay in her bed and tug one of her many plushies close, if even a cat would refuse to come to her.  “Is that… is that really the first thing you gotta ask?! I’m no fuckin’ snitch!”  Fang almost yelled as she could not believe that this was one of the first things Rei had to ask of her. As if she had already forgotten what had happened before. Does she appear like that she was in the mood to talk about these things now?! It seemed to be pointless anyway, considering this guy really seemed to be her boyfriend for unknown reasons. And of course, he was more important to her than anything else. She would not blame her for that, nor demand Rei’s full love now or the like, it simply was the worst moment for it to happen on such day.  “Honestly, I don’t care!”  she snapped again, her fingers clenching around the edges of her wheelchair.  “I just wanna go home,”  she mumbled quietly, her grip relaxing again while looking at her feet. At least no guy would bother her there, but at the same time she would love to be bothered, but in a way she would like it. But that was denied to her since a few years.

      the reaction that fang gave her was honestly more than what she had anticipated—displaying her anger by raising her voice & calling her out over her concern. eyes widened, a little taken aback at first, before brows were furrowed together & rei tried to reason with her. the noise being enough to scare taro away. not only him, but rei also recoiled at any loudness ; shoulders shrinking as she grimaced at first. “fang...” her voice remained soft still, calling out her name in an attempt to reach out—calm her down from this state she was in. “i’m sorry, but please, calm down.” the plea was accompanied by her hands being gently placed atop of fang’s lap, leaning forward from her spot on the bed. “i didn’t know this was going to happen.” his unexpected visit, she meant, & with it, fang probably had felt as if she was getting in the way. rei tried to assure her that wasn’t the case, but even she didn’t know what she’d have done if he had decided to stay. neither of them seemed to cooperate with her.

     her head leans to the side, searching to meet her friend’s stare & offer a curl of her lips filled with hope. “—but didn’t you want to stay over to watch a movie?” rei asked, as if to remind her of their plans before jiro arrived. she hadn’t forgotten of fang’s need for some company after what happened, & even though rei could perfectly understand her need to be alone, it didn’t sit well with her to send her on her own after tonight’s events. “we can place some pillows on the living room floor & have some snacks.” she offered, before her hands were retrieved to give her some space. her phone remained right underneath her palm, turning it to stare at the screen & see the missing call. her lips pursued together, as she thought on texting him the name of the bar, but she didn’t want fang to think that she wasn’t a priority to her. “it’s late for you to go home alone...” rei offers, giving her friend a pleading stare along with a pout. “why don’t you stay?”

[whatifidontwanttobethesavior]

Bonded

Cadmine slept fitfully the first night in her new home, her brow furrowed and face streaked with dried tears that had fallen from her eyes for a good while before she had finally given in to her body’s exhaustion. She had ached in more ways than one as her new husband had kissed her hand and instead of lying with her in the manner of which a man did with his wife, Vidmir had left her. He had told her she was tired, and that they had all of eternity for such things, but Cadmine hadn’t been able to help feeling a bit… disappointed? She knew that she should have been relieved, that most women would have been glad for the chance to rest properly after such a long day but before Cadmine knew it, she had broken down in tears. Her heart had ached inside of her chest, though whether it was from the beginnings of the change slowing it down or the fact that her husband had decided not to stay the night with her Cadmine couldn’t tell. It could also have easily been homesickness, having to sleep in a new place that she had never been to before or a yearning for her parents who had always bid her a good night before she’d gone to bed. She had stained the satin cover of the pillow beneath her head, the crimson material darkening even further beneath the wetness of her sadness. Eventually she had grown cold without Vidmir’s presence beside her and shifted on top of the covers, fighting with them until she had been able to squirm her way beneath them. It was warmer under the blankets and Cadmine had fallen asleep at last, her hair sticking to one cheek, her hand brought close to her face. She nuzzled against the flannel of  her husband’s pajama sleeve, breathing in the scent of him and causing a fresh flood of crying to be released from her eyes as she felt a sudden yearning for his presence. She wasn’t sure why he had chosen to go elsewhere for the night. Even if he had decided that being with her physically wasn’t something they needed to do right away, she still would have felt better to have him lie beside her. The red room felt much larger, more empty, and a lot more foreboding without him there.

When Cadmine woke it was to the swish of curtains sliding across a rod and the smell of food. She stirred, rolling and rubbing at her eyes, her hair an absolute mess on her head she blinked, trying to take in her surroundings. She was confused momentarily, the place unfamiliar at first until she remembered. She had been married last night. This was the home of her husband, her home now, and this was the room he had given to her. The handmaiden, Gunhilde, had just opened the large velvet curtains, letting in the light of the moon, brightening up the dim settings. Cadmine knew that with the change her eyes would adjust in time so that she would be able to see much better with limited light but at the moment, she welcomed the addition. She was able to more clearly see the room now but even so, she could have done with a few more candles. Or some electric lighting but an old castle like this simply didn’t have such a thing.

“Good morning, my Lady.” Gunhilde greeted in Cadmine’s native tongue, the sound of her words reassuring to the young wife. Cadmine managed a small smile as she began to press back the blankets a bit, but Gunhilde rushed forward holding a bed tray to place over her lap instead. Fine china sat on the gleaming wooden surface, plain white pieces with simple golden rims. Cadmine stared down at her favorite breakfast, a simple piece of sourdough toast with a slice of sharp cheddar cheese and topped with thin apple slices. There were also scrambled eggs and some bacon off to one side, as well as a cup of what smelt like her favorite morning tea. “The Lord said you might be quite tired this morning and to not put you through any unneeded strain. I do hope your night went well, Lady Nezhdanov.”

Cadmine blinked, surprised for a moment as she registered her new name. She had heard it the night before of course, but it hadn’t quite clicked until now that her name was no longer the same as it had once been. She was a married woman and thus, had taken her husband’s surname as her own. How did one even go about spelling something like Nezhdanov? Cadmine would have to learn. Looking up from the tray across her lap, Cadmine’s eyes fell upon Gunhilde, looking all the world like almost every other handmaiden Cadmine had ever had. She wore the usual uniform of a dress and apron, stockings and good shoes made for working in, her hair pulled back into a tight bun. In a way, it was comforting for Cadmine and she felt her nerves easing a little bit, though her eyes flitted towards the door, wondering if her husband was awake yet.

“It was fine.” Cadmine stated simply, turning her attention back to Gunhilde. “Have you eaten? I’m not very partial to eggs if you’d like them.”

“Ah yes. Your parents said that, but the Lord wanted to make sure you got enough of your energy back. Neither of you will be able to partake in any blood except one another’s until after the change is complete, as is the tradition.”

“Oh, right...” Cadmine sighed, looking down at her tray again and noticing the severe lack of her usual blood slushie. It pale in comparison when she remembered the absolute ambrosia that was Vidmir’s blood though. She didn’t know if a slushie would satiate her ever again in the same manner of which it once had now that she knew what it was like to drink fresh from the vein of her husband. “Is he awake, do you know?”

“I’m afraid not. Master Lucero said he was not to be disturbed but you are welcome to do as you wish throughout the castle until you are ready to retire back to bed for the night.”

“Oh.” Cadmine felt a wave of disappointment wash over her, the realization that she probably wouldn’t be seeing Vidmir again until it was time for him to return to this bed. They would drink from one another again and then… what? Was he going to take her as his? Or perhaps he would decide upon that first so they still had enough energy for feeding left. The memory of his lips upon her neck the night before, the way his teeth had sunken into her flesh and then the pleasure that had forced away the pain of his venom. Just the thought of it had Cadmine’s cheeks heating with color, her thighs tightening beneath the red blankets. She had desired him and even now, as she pondered the idea of becoming one with her husband, Cadmine was both nervous and excited. Surely tonight. He had probably just been too exhausted from yesterday’s busyness to continue. And afterwards, he would stay with her. They could lie together, close in that way couples were supposed to. For now, she would simply have to be patient until he came for her.

“After you’ve eaten, I can help you dress and we can do whatever you please, my Lady.”

“Alright then.” Cadmine agreed. She lifted the toast and bit into it, relishing the familiar taste of her usual breakfast. She ate it down heartily, wanting to have plenty of strength for tonight, sipping at her tea. When she was finished, Gunhilde removed the tray and set it off to one side. She moved to the large wardrobe and tugged it open, revealing Cadmine’s usual assortment of dresses. They were pretty things, but very old fashioned if she was to be honest. However, she was still happy to see them at the moment. “May I have the green please? The light one. I do believe that is my favorite.”

Gunhilde appeased her, pulling the sage colored dress from the wardrobe on its hanger, lying it down on the bed. It took time and effort for Gunhilde to figure out how to help Cadmine dress and get into her wheelchair. Cadmine could do most of it on her own, though the many buttons down the back of her dress made things more difficult than they had to be. At least she didn’t have to deal with a rotten corset and back brace today. That had been demolished by her husband in the limo the night before. Her leg braces, however, were more familiar and easy to put on, not making her feel so confined and helping her stay upright easier when she stood up to get her dress down and then, sit in her chair. She leaned back into it with a sigh, letting Gunhilde do up her hair in it’s usual tight bun with a cover. When asked what she would like to do, Cadmine frowned and then shrugged, suggesting maybe they could go exploring a bit. The handmaiden agreed and rolled her out of her chambers, heading down a long hallway that was still more dimly lit than Cadmine would have liked. It was a good hall though and the thin wheels on her old chair moved easily along it, not catching like they tended to on most things.

“Gunhilde, may I go fast?” Cadmine asked after a moment, reaching down to grab at her wheels’ handrails. Gunhilde laughed.

“It’s your house, my Lady. Master Lucero said the Lord was very clear. You can do whatever you desire.”

Cadmine smiled at that and then pushed herself forward, using her arms to get herself going much more rapidly than before. She’d never been allowed to race about back home but it was something she did enjoy. Going slow had never been fun for Cadmine but there was always the worry that she’d fall out of her chair if she raced about. She couldn’t run, so it was the closest she could get. She released a bit of a laugh as she reached the end of the hallway and found herself in the main entrance hall full of paintings from last night. Gunhilde had picked up her own pace to keep up, holding her bun a bit to keep it in place but she had a smile on as well. She wasn’t all too much older than Cadmine to be honest, only in her early twenties. They ended up racing circles around the entrance hall for a bit, Cadmine only getting caught on a rug every now and then when she wasn’t careful and nearly sending herself toppling because her chair couldn’t handle  it. Soon after though, they picked another hallway and started down it, intent on getting the lay of the land for now. Cadmine wanted to figure out where all the main rooms were so she wouldn’t get lost.

[heauxplesslydevoted]

The Delivery

Summary: Naomi goes into labor in unexpected circumstances. You can read the first part here

A/N: Oof, this is incredibly long and pretty angsty. Please be advised that there are strong mentions of pregnancy complications. As always, enjoy! Like, reply, reblog, all that good stuff :)

“Can you tie my shoelaces?”

Ethan looked up from his file and saw Naomi struggling to tie her shoes. He chuckled as she maneuvered her body and attempted to bypass the large bump taking up most of her front.

“I told you it was time to switch to slip-ons,” Ethan teased. At 36 weeks pregnant, Naomi was still as stubborn as ever, despite her very large, very round baby bump.

“These are my comfy shoes. Please?” Ethan got up from his seat and walked over to the couch Naomi was currently occupying. She lifted her feet up for him to grab her shoes. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, my love. Is your back still hurting?”

Most days, Naomi enjoyed being pregnant. She didn’t have much morning sickness, and she had tons of energy. Her husband and friends spoiled her rotten, caving in to her most ridiculous whims. She never had to wait in line in the cafeteria, because who would dare keep Ethan Ramsey’s wife and child waiting? And she loved the fact that she was growing a little version of her and Ethan, a concept that made her smile and buzz in excitement when she stopped to think about it.

But there were days where pregnancy was hard. Her body swelled uncomfortably, her boobs were ridiculous, sometimes it was hard to breath because of how the baby was positioned, and her hormones were constantly changing. Some days she wanted to tear Ethan’s head off in a fit of rage for the littlest thing, and 2 minutes later, she wanted to have sex in an on-call room. It was annoying.

Naomi had been complaining about back pain for the last few days. She insisted it was nothing until she couldn’t stand to walk (waddle) any more, and had to take a quick break in his office. That was over 20 minutes ago, and since then she’s made no effort to move.

“Yeah, but that’s just par for the course. I’m petite and your daughter is heavy.”

“My daughter? Just mine?”

When they found out they were having a baby girl, Naomi was excited but Ethan was over the moon. The idea of having a daughter, an adorable little girl that looked like Naomi was a dream.

“Yup. Just yours.” Ethan placed a hand on Naomi’s stomach and was instantly greeted with a kick. “See? She’s a daddy’s girl.”

“Can you give your mother a bit of reprieve, little one?” Ethan asked, gently stroking Naomi’s belly. “Ease up on her.”

“Tell her to take her foot out of my ribs, too.”

Ethan looked up at Naomi, a hint of a smirk on his lips. “Excuse me, this is a private conversation between me and my daughter. You aren’t allowed.”

Naomi rolled her eyes. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

“You should be.” Ethan stepped back and lifted Naomi up. “Are you sure you’re feeling alright? You could always leave early, I’m pretty sure your boss will allow it.”

Naomi giggled. “My boss lets me get away with a lot of stuff. But no, I’ll be fine.”

“How much longer do you have on your shift?”

Naomi checked the time on her watch and groaned. “5 hours.”

“I’m off now, but I can stay around if you’d like.”

“No. Go home.”

“Well, you can set up shop here for the rest of the day if you’d like.”

“Really?” Naomi’s eyes lit up. “I get unlimited access to your coveted office?”

“Yes. Don’t go crazy in here though.”

“No promises.”

Ethan gently kissed his wife’s forehead before dropping another onto her lips. “Have a good rest of your shift. I’ll see you when you get home.”

~~/~~

A few hours later, Naomi was still hiding out in Ethan’s office. It was late in the evening, all of her patients were accounted for, and she was using the peace and quiet to catch up on paperwork. With her maternity leave starting in a few short weeks, she was trying to get as much done as she could before she handed her patients over to another doctor.

Her back was still killing her unfortunately, much to her annoyance. “You just won’t give me a day of peace, baby girl. Why do you enjoy being lodged into my spine?”

The baby kicked her sharply in reply and Naomi chuckled. Her daughter wasn’t even born yet, and she had quite the personality already.

“Well why don’t we go on a walk,” Naomi suggested, drumming her fingers along her belly. “Maybe your uncle Bryce is doing a cool surgery. Or auntie Aurora is yelling at her interns again.”

Naomi reluctantly pushed herself out of Ethan’s plush leather chair and was instantly met with a sharp pain in her stomach. Gasping, Naomi clutched the edge of the desk to steady herself. Surely, she couldn’t be in labor. It was too early, she had 4 weeks left. Maybe it was Braxton Hicks contractions, but were Braxton Hicks contractions supposed to hurt?

Another burst of pain rippled through her core, this time actually bringing her to her knees. She hadn’t been in this much pain since she fell down the stairs in the atrium all those months ago and bruised her ribs.

Afraid of trying to stand up again, Naomi turned around and pressed her back against the edge of Ethan’s desk, using it to keep herself propped up. She’d try to get up in a few minutes once the pain subsided.

She placed a hand on her stomach. “You’re okay, baby. You’re okay. And you’re not coming out tonight, so don’t go getting any ideas.” 

A few minutes passed, and the stomach pain lessened, just enough to the point where Naomi actually wasn’t afraid to move again. She sighed, relieved that the pain was no longer holding her in a vice-like grip.

But before she could celebrate, a gush of wetness pooled between her legs, and Naomi looked down. Her usually blue scrub pants were now a deep shade of red. Blood.

Digging into the pocket of her white coat, Naomi pulled out her cell phone. With trembling fingers she dialed for her OB/GYN. 

“Hello, Doctor Brenda Forbes speaking.”

“Brenda, it’s Naomi.”

“Hi, Naomi.

“Are you at the hospital?”

“Yes, I’m in my office right now. Why?”

“I’m in Ethan’s office and I need you to come down here quick. Somethings wrong.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know. My back has been hurting all day and I got these really sharp pains in my stomach, and it hurts to move. And I’m bleeding through my pants,” Naomi explained, her voice cracking. “I think I’m in labor.”

“Are you having contractions?”

“I think so, I don’t know.”

“Is it stomach pain or pressure?” Brenda asked. Naomi could hear shuffling in the background and she assumed Brenda was moving around. “Does it feel like menstrual cramps?”

Naomi shook her head even though Brenda couldn’t see her. This was a pain unlike anything she’d ever felt. “No, not at all. It’s pain, stomach pain, I’m sure.”

“Okay. Is the door to Ethan’s office unlocked?”

“Y-yes.”

“Is he with you?”

“No, he’s at home.”

“Naomi, I know it’s easier said than done but I need you to relax. I need you to breathe. You have to stay calm for the baby. Can you feel the baby moving?”

“Yes, she’s still moving.”

“Good, that’s good.” The door opened and in walked Brenda and one of her residents, who was pushing a wheelchair. “Hi.”

“Hi.”

“On a scale of 1 to 10, how bad is the pain?”

“9.” Brenda gently lifted Naomi up and helped her get in the wheelchair. “What’s wrong? Do you think my baby’s okay?”

“We have to run some tests before I can give you an answer. Do you want me to call Ethan for you?”

“No, I can call him.” Picking up her phone again, Naomi dialed Ethan’s number. He picked up after a few rings.

“Miss me already?”

“Ethan, I need you to come back to the hospital.”

Ethan could hear the urgency in his wife’s tone. “Naomi, what’s wrong?”

“I don’t know, I’m having some pain and–”

“I’m on my way.”

~~/~~

Naomi usually found comfort in Ethan’s warm hands on her, but she couldn’t shake her anxiousness. Every nerve in her body was on high alert and she couldn’t fully relax.

Neither of them knew what to say while Brenda performed her ultrasound, the spacious birthing suit was extremely silent. “Okay, I have some good news and some bad news. Good news is that the baby isn’t in any distress and her heart rate sounds good.

Ethan gripped Naomi’s hand tighter and kissed her knuckles. “Oh thank God.”

“And what’s the bad news?” Naomi asked.

Brenda sighed. “You’re experiencing placental abruption, which means it’s detached itself from your uterus, and this baby has to come out tonight.”

“No.”

Ethan turned to his wife, “Naomi–“

“No, it’s too early,” Naomi said. “I’m supposed to be pregnant for 4 more weeks.”

“I know it’s scary, but delivering at 36 weeks is more common than you think.”

Naomi wrapped a protective arm around her stomach. “And there’s nothing we can do?”

Brenda shook her head. “Unfortunately not. It’s a complete detachment, which means the baby isn’t receiving nutrients, and you would just hemorrhage more blood. Prolonging your pregnancy would do more harm than good at this point.”

“Will I have to have a c-section?”

“Actually no. Your vitals and cervix look good, and the baby isn’t in distress. We’d actually prefer vaginal birth if it’s an option.”

Naomi turned to Ethan, hoping he’d have some answers for her. “What should I do?”

“You’re the one delivering the baby,” Ethan pointed out. “And I doubt you want an unnecessary surgery.”

“You’re right.” Naomi turned to Brenda and nodded, determined. “I’m delivering naturally.”

“Great, I’ll get a nurse to come in and administer the misoprostol and pitocin, and hopefully the labor starts soon.”

“How long will it take? For the pitocin to kick in?”

“It just depends because every woman’s labor experience is different. We don’t want it to take too long though, and we’ll be monitoring the baby’s heart rate closely.”

“If it takes too long, will I have to have a c-section?”

“Yes.”

Naomi could feel herself getting overwhelmed by all of the information. This was a lot to take in at once. She held her stomach even tighter, wanting to keep her baby as safe as possible. “Okay.”

Brenda smiled sympathetically at her patient. “I’ll be back soon to check on you, but call me if anything happens.”

“Thank you, Brenda,” Ethan said.

“Of course.” Brenda left Naomi’s room without another word.

“Is there anything I can do right now?” Ethan asked. Surely there was something he could be doing to make Naomi more comfortable.

“Where’s my phone?”

Ethan grabbed the plastic bag given to them upon check in and handed it to her. It was full of her personal things: cell phone, her engagement ring and wedding band. “Here you are.”

“Thank you.” Naomi unlocked her phone and dialed her mother's number. 

“Hi, sweetheart!” Naomi’s mother, Dorinda greeted.

“Mom,” Naomi started, her voice cracking. “Mom, you and daddy need to some to Boston right now.”

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

Naomi tried to keep her composure as best as she could, but she broke, the stress of the situation finally getting to her. “I’m in the hospital, they’re inducing me.”

“What? You aren’t due until next month! What’s going on?”

“I have placental abruption, the baby needs to come out tonight.”

The line went silent for a while, and Naomi could hear her mother yelling at her dad, telling him that they needed to get to the airport. “Okay, what’s happening now?”

“I’m just waiting for the nurse to come in with the pitocin.”

“And how are you feeling right now?” Dorinda asked. “Are you in pain?”

“I’m really scared,” Naomi confessed, tears fully falling from her eyes at this point. She didn’t bother wiping them. “It’s too early, she’s not supposed to be here this soon.”

“I know it’s scary, but she’s going to be fine, and so are you. You’re in the best hospital in the country, receiving the best care.”

“Can you just get here soon? Please?”

“Of course. We’re already on our way.”

“Good.”

“Where’s Ethan?”

“He’s sitting right next to me.”

“Can I speak to him?”

Naomi handed the phone to Ethan. “She wants to talk to you.”

Ethan put the phone between his ear and his shoulder. “Hello, Dorinda.”

“Hi, Ethan, how are you?”

“Hanging in there.”

“Steven and I are on our way, we’ll be booking the first flight available.”

Ethan sighed in relief. He had never been more grateful for his in-laws living in D.C. which was only a 90 minute plane ride away.

“If you need any help with that, just let me know.”

“Thank you for offering, but it won’t be necessary. Just...take care of my daughter, Ethan.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice.” 

Ethan hung up the phone and turned back to Naomi, who was fully sobbing at this point. His throat tightened at the sight. He hated seeing her cry.

“I don’t want to do this,” Naomi cried.

Ethan gently climbed into the bed with Naomi and cradled her in his arms. He tried wiping her tears, but they were coming down uncontrollably at this point.

“I know. I know it’s scary and it’s not what we planned, but she’s coming whether we like it or not. So we just have to roll with it and be strong, for her.”

Naomi knew he was right, but she still didn’t like this. “Give me two minutes. A two minute breakdown, and then I’ll rally.”

“Two minutes,” Ethan repeated. “Deal.”

~~/~~

While the thought of giving birth was terrifying, Naomi was grateful her mom was able to make it to the hospital before she had to start pushing. Yes Ethan was the best husband in the world, but she needed her mother.

Steven and Dorinda Valentine showed up at Edenbrook in a flurry. She was still wearing her silk pajamas and a red Versace bathrobe when she stalked through the halls, but Dorinda was still intense and no-nonsense. Within 5 minutes of being there, she had conferenced with everyone who had come into contact with Naomi from her OB down to the janitor. Steven lingered in the private waiting area along with the rest of Naomi’s friends who were anxiously awaiting news on Baby Ramsey.”

Naomi’s labor progressed quicker than anyone could have anticipated. With two hours, she went from 1 to 10 centimeters dilated.

She quickly realized that labor fucking sucked. Moving too quickly, Naomi wasn’t able to get an epidural and the thought of having to push an entire human out of her body sans drugs scared her. 

“Can I get you anything?” Ethan asked as a particularly strong contraction hit Naomi. She shook her head and just squeezed his hand.

“Stop...talking.”

Dorinda ran her hands through Naomi’s hair. “Sweetheart, you are doing so good.”

Naomi dropped Ethan’s hand and moved her head out of her mother’s path. She didn’t want anyone touching her.

“Okay, Naomi it’s time to push,” Brenda said. “You ready to meet your baby girl?”

“Yes,” Naomi replied, almost desperately. “Yes!”

“On your next contraction, I want you to push and hold it until I tell you to stop,” Brenda instructed. Naomi nodded.

On her next contraction, Naomi pulled herself up and gripped the bedsheets so fiercely, her knuckles turned white.

“That’s it, Naomi, you’re doing great,” Brenda coached. “And release.”

Naomi fell back onto the bed with a tired sigh. She closed her eyes, hoping to get a moment’s rest.

But before she could even get comfortable again, another contraction hit, forcing her upright. This time as she pushed, she grabbed on to her mother’s hand for support.

After pushing for 25 more minutes, Naomi was officially ready to quit. This baby was refusing to vacate her body and she was over it. So she refused to push.

“I’m not doing this anymore,” Naomi said, defiantly. “You can reach into my vagina and pull her out for all I care.”

“Naomi, that’s not how this works.”

“I can’t take another second.”

Ethan crouched down and gently started playing with Naomi’s hair. Her long and full locks were originally in a professional looking top knot, but hours into labor didn’t do the hair any good. It was now matted to the side of her face, but Ethan didn’t care.

“Sweetheart,” he started, “we are so close to the finish line.”

“I don’t care.”

“Our daughter is almost here,” Ethan added.

“You want her so bad, you can push her out yourself.”

“Alright.” Ethan stood up. So husband mode wasn’t working, it was time to change tactics. “Rookie, you’re being ridiculous.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me loud and clear, Valentine,” He continued, using his authoritative tone with her. “You’re in labor, the baby has to come out. Stop being so petulant and spoiled, and push when Brenda tells you to.”

Naomi glared at Ethan fiercely. How dare he use his doctor voice to scold her while she was in labor? She clamped down tightly on his wrist, twisting it. “Ethan Jonah Ramsey, I don’t know who the fuck—”

Another contraction hit, cutting Naomi off. She clenched her jaw tightly as the pain rolled through her lower back.

“You can yell at me all you want, but why don’t we meet our daughter first?” Ethan suggested.

“Fine.”

Ethan bit down on his lip to keep from smirking. Mission accomplished. “Thank you.”

“Naomi, you’re so close!” Brenda exclaimed. “The baby is almost here. You have to push.”

Dorinda grabbed one of Naomi’s legs, helping her daughter stay braced in the position. Naomi leaned forward, tucking her chin into her chest as she pushed.

“I can see her head!”

Dorinda moved from her position next to Naomi next to Brenda. “Oh my goodness, Naomi, she has hair.” She let out a breathy noise from the back of her throat, similar to a chuckle. “My granddaughter has so much hair!”

She didn’t know why, but that minuscule detail gave Naomi a quick burst of energy. On her next contraction, she pushed as hard as she could.

Suddenly, the pressure in her lower half was gone. Brenda held up a wriggly little baby. “It’s a girl!”

Ethan cut the cord and the nurses quickly whisked the baby away, cleaning her off and warming her up.

The silence in the room sent a feeling of panic through Naomi. “Why isn’t she crying?”

“She’s a bit premature, remember?” Brenda said. “Her lungs aren’t fully developed yet. We’re going to take her to the NICU and put her on oxygen.”

In the distance, Naomi could hear a faint whimper. It wasn’t the full blown cry she wanted, but her baby was breathing.

She sank back into her bed. She was so tired, the exhaustion heavy in her bones. She just wanted to sleep.

Ethan gently cradled her face in his hands, showering her with kisses. “Rookie, you were amazing. You do it!”

“I did it,” Naomi confirmed, struggling to keep her eyes open. God, why was her energy so low all of a sudden?

“Naomi?” She could hear Ethan calling her name, but he sounded so far away, like he was in a different room. “Naomi, can you hear me? Naomi!”

Ethan looked down and saw Naomi’s hospital gown and blanket now soaked in blood. He may not be an OB, but he knew that wasn’t a normal amount, by any means. “Oh my God!”

Dorinda could sense the urgency in her son in law’s voice. She stopped taking pictures of the baby long enough to turn and see Ethan attempting to shake Naomi in an attempt to keep her conscious. That’s when all of the monitors started going off, the room much louder than it was just a few seconds ago.

“Brenda!” He called out. “Brenda, what’s going on?”

“BP’s crashing!” A nurse said, checking Naomi’s vitals. “Her heart rate is accelerated!”

“Postpartum hemorrhaging due to the placental abruption,” Brenda said, mostly to the nurses. “Put an oxygen mask on her right now! And prep the first available OR!” She turned to Ethan and Dorinda. “You guys need to leave right now.”

“No!” Ethan shook his head. “No, I’m not leaving her. What’s going on?”

“Ethan, you need to back up and let me do my job.”

Not giving him a chance to argue, a nurse gently ushered Ethan and Dorinda out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

They walked for a while, dazed over what just happened. They didn’t even realize that they wandered into the waiting room until Sienna’s cheery voice broke the silence.

“Ethan! Missus Valentine! Has Naomi had the baby yet?”

Ethan blinked at Sienna, not even fully registering that she was speaking to him.  He looked around and saw all of their friends and colleagues sitting around. Sienna, Jackie, Elijah, Bryce, Aurora, Rafael, Kyra, and Naveen. Even Ines and Zaid were there. Everyone had heard that Naomi was delivering prematurely, and they wanted to make sure she was alright. “What?”

“Is Naomi still in labor?” Sienna asked, her eyes bright and hopeful.

“Um…” Ethan struggled to find the words. “Naomi had the baby, a girl.”

The gang all burst into cheers, excited about the newest member of the gang. The cheers all stopped when they noticed that Dorinda and Ethan were not sharing in their joy.

Naveen was the brave soul to ask, “Ethan, what’s wrong?”

Ethan could still see it clear as day. The blood, so much blood. Naomi’s usually golden brown skin was pale and clammy. And the noise. After 13 years of being a doctor, Ethan was no stranger to chaos and patients going into distress, but to see it happen to his own wife nearly made him sick to his stomach.

“We don’t know,” Dorinda answered simply, trying to keep her own emotions in check. “After Naomi had the baby, she lost a lot of blood and we were kicked out of the room. We don’t know what’s going on.”

The waiting room grew incredibly silent. Jackie inhaled sharply and clutched her own stomach, as if she had been punched.

They were all in shock. Naomi was the glue to their entire group, nothing was supposed to happen to her. 

Ines stood and reached out, going to comfort Ethan, but he took a step back. “Oh Ethan, I’m—”

“If you all will excuse me, I’m going to get some air,” Ethan said. He coughed loudly, trying to mask the fact that he was getting choked up. He walked off, quickly leaving the waiting area.

His feet led him outside and he inhaled the frigid Boston air. It was freezing outside, but he didn’t care. He slumped down onto the cold concrete and put his head in between his legs, trying to regulate his breathing.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Naveen staring down at him. “Keep breathing. In through your nose, out through your mouth. Just keep breathing.”

Ethan followed the doctor’s instructions and looked down at a crack in the concrete, trying to use the image to ground himself. “Focus on the crack, Ramsey,” he thought.

He counted to 10 in his head and slowly lifted his up, ignoring the throb at his temple. “My wife and child are fighting for their lives and here I am, having a stupid panic attack.”

“It’s not stupid,” Naveen argued.

“Well I feel stupid. Who am I to be having a panic attack? I’m not the one fighting for my life.”

“You’re human. It’s a stressful situation.”

“It wasn’t supposed to be like this. We were supposed to have another month. Naomi was going to be comfortable at home when her water broke and we’d come here for a completely uneventful delivery. And then we’d leave with our baby a day or two later. Instead I have a daughter in the NICU and my wife—” Ethan shook his head, unable to complete the sentence.

“Naomi is a strong young woman,” Naveen said. “One of the strongest I’ve even known. She’s smart, and scrappy, and resilient. Hell, she has to be to put up with you.” That managed to get a small chuckle out of Ethan. “She’s going to be just fine, and she’s going to come back from this, guns blazing.”

“I wish I had your optimism.”

“I’ve stared death in the face, Ethan. If I can come back, I know for a fact Naomi will be fine.”

Ethan wiped a tear from his eye. “I love her so much. She’s my entire life, I would cease to exist without her.”

Naveen sat down next to his protege and sighed heavily. “You have a new thing to live for. A baby girl, who I’m certain is very beautiful. Naomi is her mother, after all.”

“That is true.”

“So...have you called your parents? Do they know that their granddaughter has made her grand debut?”

“No. In the stress of the day, I completely forgot.”

“Well, I think they should be alerted to the good news.”

One of the first things Naomi did when she and Ethan started dating was make him reach out to his parents. She said life was too short to be harboring resentment, and he needed to at least try to make things right. Thankfully his parents were receptive to a reconciliation, and they made up. And they obviously loved and adored Naomi.

Naomi was the best thing that ever happened to Ethan. Without her, he would have never been brave enough to call his parents. It was one of the best decisions he had ever made.

“I’ll call them when I have an update on Naomi.”

Naveen nodded. “Fair enough. Do you want to go back inside?”

“Not yet.” Ethan inhaled deeply. “I just need a few more minutes.”

“Very well.”

After a few more minutes, the doctors head back into the hospital. They’re instantly stopped by an older nurse, a woman by the name of Lily. She’d been working at the hospital longer than Ethan had his medical license.

“Dr. Ramsey, your daughter is settling quite well in the NICU. Would you like to see her?”

“I can see her?”

“Yes.”

Naveen pushed Ethan forward. “Go on!”

Not needing to be told twice, Ethan followed the nurse to the NICU. After thoroughly washing his hands and checking in, Ethan was led to an incubator in the center of the room. There was a tiny label that said ‘Baby Girl Ramsey’, and inside was a tiny little thing. 

“She’s so tiny,” Ethan said, mesmerized.

“6 pounds, 2 ounces, 19 inches long,” Lily recited. “I suspect she’ll be tall like her dad.”

Ethan ran his hand along the incubator. “How long will she have to be here?”

“Depends on the progress she makes,” Lily answered. “Right now she’s not breathing on her own, and we want her to gain a bit more weight, but I am optimistic. You have a very tough little lady on your hands.”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Would you like to hold her?”

“I can do that?”

“You can even do skin to skin contact. Just sit down and unbutton your shirt.” Ethan did as he was told. Lily carefully took the baby out of the incubator and placed her on Ethan’s chest. “It’ll help her heart rate and regulate body temperature. It’ll even calm you down. I’m sure it’s been a stressful day.”

“That’s putting it lightly,” Ethan said, stroking the baby’s cheek.

“Why don’t you get some bonding time with your baby, and I’ll see if I can get an update on Naomi?”

Ethan looked up, his eyes hopeful. “Yes, please.”

“I’ll be back as soon as I have more info for you.”

“Thank you.”

“Of course.” Lily quickly left the NICU, leaving Ethan in a room full of sleeping babies and noisy monitors.

Ethan stared down at the baby on his chest. Her eyes opened for a brief second and Ethan saw a flash of the most striking blue, similar to his own.  “You have my eyes. Well, you have my eyes for now, they may change as you grow up. But everything else is your mother’s. Lucky you. She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known.”

“Happy birthday. You weren’t supposed to be here so soon, but I guess you were too excited to meet us. But while I’m glad you’re here, don’t ever scare us like that again, young lady.” The baby moved slightly against Ethan’s chest as if she was replying. 

“I suppose I should tell you a little bit about myself. I’m your dad, Ethan. I’m 39 years old, I enjoying reading, and I absolutely hate small talk. And I never thought I’d be blessed enough to have you. Not that I didn’t want children, I just never saw myself settling down and starting a family. We have a dog named Jenner, and man is he going to be tickled by you. He wouldn’t leave your mother alone when she was pregnant. Always following her, cuddling with her, sleeping with her. Jenner is extremely protective, and I’m sure the two of you will be fast friends.”

“And your mother, wow. You got the best mother in the world. She’s incredibly smart, and compassionate, and kind, and funny. She loves corny jokes, so you’ll probably spend a lot of time rolling your eyes and groaning in embarrassment. And she’s stubborn, the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met. She refuses to let things go, and to give up. It’s a blessing and a curse, to have someone care so much. She’s always going to do what’s right, even at her own expense.”

“She absolutely loves you,” Ethan continued. “Since we found out she was pregnant, you’ve been her main focus. Sometimes I would wake up in the middle of the night, and find her reading pregnancy books and online shopping. She was always talking to you and stroking her stomach. She also loves singing to you, even though she’s a horrible singer. But that doesn’t stop her from singing, loudly and off key.” He laughed softly. “She’s the most amazing woman I know. And I know she’s fighting hard to be with us. She’s a fighter. You’re a fighter as well.

“And you have tons of aunts and uncles out there who can’t wait to meet you. And grandparents. Your grandma Dorinda probably has matching Gucci pajama sets already.”

“Burberry, actually.” Ethan turned his head and saw Dorinda and Steven in the doorway. “We don’t mean to interrupt, but the nurse said we could visit.”

“No, it’s fine. Come on, come meet your granddaughter.”

Dorinda stepped up first, peering down at the baby curled up on Ethan’s chest. “I know most newborns look like little blobs, but not this one. She looks just like Naomi, it’s almost scary.”

“Spitting image,” Ethan agreed.

“I wonder what she’ll be like,” Dorinda said, stroking the baby’s cheek. “Naomi was a very energetic baby. Never cried, very noisy. She was always babbling and yelling.”

“And she hated naps,” Steven added with a chuckle. “Even as a baby, she was so alert, so curious.”

“That sounds like Naomi.” Ethan looked down at his daughter and back up at Dorinda. “Would you like to hold her?”

“Yes, please.” Ethan slowly stood up and Dorinda sat in the seat he was previously occupying. “I’m a grandma! You’re my first grandchild, I’m going to spoil you rotten.”

“I hope your condo has plenty of closet space, Ethan,” Steven joked. “Dory here knows how to shop.”

“A baby girl as perfect as this one deserves to be spoiled,” Dorinda cooed.

“I agree.”

Ethan felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and saw Brenda standing behind him.

“Ethan,” she greeted. “Mister and Missus Valentine.”

“Brenda, do you have news on Naomi?”

Brenda took a deep breath and signed. “Yes. She lost a lot of blood and we had to rush her to emergency surgery, but we stopped the bleeding and she’s stable. She’s being moved to recovery right now.”

Ethan’s knees buckled at the words. “She’s okay? She’s going to be okay?”

“She’s going to be okay. She’s a little weak right now, we had to give her a blood transfusion, and the surgery is going to make her sore for a few weeks, but yes, she is going to be okay.”

Ethan flung himself forward and wrapped Brenda in a tight hug, tears spilling from his eyes. “Thank you. Thank you so much for saving my wife,”

“Of course. Naomi is a dear colleague, and a friend.”

“I owe you my entire life.”

“I did what I had to do, Ethan. Think nothing more of it.”

“Can I see her?” Ethan asked once he broke the hug.

“As soon as she’s settled into her room and the nurses check over her vitals, you can visit.”

Ethan let out a sigh, a weight lifted off of his chest. His wife and his daughter were both going to be okay. He could breathe again. “Thank you.”

“You are very welcome.”

~~/~~

A few hours later, Naomi woke up, groggy and confused. Her head felt foggy and her body was incredibly numb.

“Mhmmm.”

Next to her, Ethan lay uncomfortably on a small couch, watching her like a hawk. At the sound of her voice, he jumped up. “Naomi? Naomi, can you hear me?”

“Ethan?”

“I’m here, Rookie.” He gently stroked her hair. “I’m here.” Naomi gently ran her hand across her stomach and panic coarser through her veins when she was met with the flat surface. She tried to sit up, but it was too painful. “Whoa, whoa, whoa slow down!”

“My baby! Ethan, where is my baby?”

“She’s fine,” Ethan assured her. “She’s fine, I promise. She’s with your parents in the NICU. They were in here earlier, but they are absolutely enamored with her.”

“What happened?”

“You bled out after the delivery and nearly went into shock. Your blood pressure dropped, your heart rate was through the roof.” Ethan’s voice cracked. “Naomi, I nearly lost you, don’t you ever do that to me again.”

“I don’t plan on it.”

“Promise?”

“Promise. I’m sorry.”

Ethan kissed Naomi’s forehead. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“I don’t know what happened. Everything with my pregnancy was going fine, how did it end so horribly?”

“I don’t know. I can’t dwell on that though, all I care about is that you’re healthy and our daughter is healthy.”

“When can I see her?”

Ethan scanned all of the monitors that were hooked up to Naomi. “Your vitals look good and you don’t have a fever. I’ll call a nurse to get you a wheelchair.”

A few minutes later, Ethan was wheeling Naomi into the NICU. It was quiet and pretty empty, save for a few nurses, some parents, and Dorinda and Steven.

Their eyes lit up upon seeing their daughter. “Naomi! Ethan, why didn’t you tell us she was awake?”

“She just woke up,” Ethan explained. “The first thing she wanted to do was come here.”

“Thank God you’re alright.” Dorinda kissed her daughter. “You gave me quite the scare, young lady. If I wanted this type of drama, I’d watch Grey’s Anatomy.”

Naomi noticed the baby bundled up in her dad’s arms. “Is that her?”

“Yup.” Steven placed the baby in Naomi’s arms.

“Oh my goodness, hi. I’m your mommy and it is so nice to finally meet you.”

Dorinda tugged on her husband’s hand. “Let’s give the new parents a moment alone. You’re buying me some vending machine cookies.”

“Yes, dear.” Naomi’s parents quickly left the NICU, leaving Ethan and Naomi with their daughter.

Naomi couldn’t believe it. She and Ethan made this perfect little human. “She’s so beautiful.”

“She takes after her mother.”

“Maybe she’ll have your charm.” Naomi smiled at the baby. “I love her.”

“I do too.”

“Like, I love her so much, it hurts. I’d snap someone’s neck Mortal Kombat style for her if I had to.”

Ethan laughed. “I don’t doubt you at all.”

“This has been a long and horrible day. Went into early labor, gave birth with no medication, and I nearly died. But I’d do it all over again for her, without a second thought, without changing a single thing.”

“Thankfully we don’t have to do such a thing.”

Naomi leaned forward, pressing the baby closer to her, not able to get enough. “What are we going to name her? We hadn’t even thought of names yet. I want to give her something good.”

“What about Valentina?”

“Valentina,” Naomi repeated slowly.

“Named after you, of course.”

“You’re so sweet.” Naomi bit her bottom lip, mulling it over. “Valentina Ramsey.” She looked down at the baby. “Do you like that? Valentina Noelle?”

“Noelle?”

“My mom’s middle name,” Naomi explained. “And it flows. Valentina Noelle Ramsey.”

“I love it.”

“I do too.” The baby gripped Naomi’s finger tightly. “I think she’s a fan as well.”

“So it’s settled. Our daughter has a name.”

“The perfect name for the most perfect little girl.”

Ethan smiled. His heart had never been more full than it was in that moment, that perfect moment. He kissed the crown of Naomi’s head. “I love you, Missus Ramsey. Thanks for making me a daddy.”

Naomi giggled. “I love you too, Mister Ramsey. Thanks for making me a mommy.”

[zoocross0vers]

Raspberries Challenge #8: Lady and the Tramp

Raspberries Challenge #8: Lady and the Tramp

                                          Judy and the Hustler

It was a beautiful moonlit evening as Judy Hopps, a lovely gray bunny born into the city’s upper class, made her way down the street with the local low-life fox by the name of Nick Wilde -- otherwise known simply as “The Hustler” by his fellow street dwellers.

It was a situation Judy never believed she’d ever find herself in. Not that she had anything against the poor or the fox himself -- at this point, how could she? After all, he had saved her life earlier when she was out running errands on the bad side of town -- due to her horrible and cowardly Aunt Sarah forcing her to go there by herself. As she was out, she was cornered by some hoodlums who had stolen her things and who tried to play a “kissing” game with her, telling her that, that was the toll to pay to let her get back to her side of town. Needless to say, Nick came to her rescue and valiantly fought off all three of the wolves that tried to harass her. He was quite a strong and fierce fighter given his shorter stature compared to the wolves. Though of course, it also helped that he was quick to dodge and a tactful fighter -- as more often than not he somehow managed to trick the wolves into hitting each other rather than him.

After the fact, Judy had taken him to the local pharmacy to treat his battle wounds. He wasn’t too badly injured, he just had a few scrapes that required some light bandaging.

It was strange, here she was walking about town -- her in her nice, upper class yellow dress, looking ever so much like the lady she was -- and he, dressed in gray slacks and suspenders with a clear red patch at the knee, a white collared shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and a matching gray newsies cap. Anybody who saw them walking together would clearly see the difference in social class between them.

Heck, just the sight of her walking next to him would be enough for anyone in her neighborhood to look down on her. And as for him, most in her upper class circle wouldn’t even dare give the fox a passing glance. The lower class meant absolutely nothing to them. That much she knew, more so after taking into consideration the way her close friends and neighbors, Jack Savage (a striped hare with an English accent) and Benjamin Clawhauser (a chubby cheetah, with an insatiable appetite and of a normally trusting nature, but still very cautious around foxes) reacted to Nick when they first met him. They made it very clear that they wanted nothing to do with him.

Judy however, didn’t know what to think. At first she felt inclined to believe her friends, but as things were now, she just couldn’t look down on the fox. For despite everything she’d ever heard about foxes or the lower class, he was actually...quite the gentlemammal. He was also very easy to talk to and was very sweet and polite to her, despite his incessant need to call her by various nicknames, like “Fluff” or “Carrots”. Though truth be told, she didn’t mind it in the least.

As they turned another corner, Judy told him about her awful aunt and of how she made her go alone into the bad side of town. “So then she called me a disease ridden wretch just because I lightly coughed near my baby brother and her baby son. And after that she told me to go get her some children’s cough medicine to make sure I didn’t make the babies sick. She didn’t even let me go to our nearby pharmacy. She said as punishment I had to go to this very specific pharmacy that was all the way across town just because it was the only one that sold a particular brand of cough medicine. And to make sure that I got there faster, she told me to take a shortcut through the other side of the tracks. That’s when the wolves came and--”

“Say no more, Carrots. I get the whole picture. Aunts, babies, wolves. Your aunt sounds like a real peach, by the way,” Nick quipped sarcastically.

Reading his sarcasm, Judy couldn’t help but stifle a chuckle “I don’t know if that’s the right word to describe her.”

“Oh?” Nick poked, squatting before Judy to be at eye level with her, “Then what word would you use to describe her? Eh, Carrots?”

Judy grew red in embarrassment, “U-um...well…”

“Did the posh bunny just have a naughty word in mind?” Nick placed a paw at his chest, feigning disappointment in the bunny, “And here I thought you were a sweet and proper lady.” He chuckled, walking ahead of her, paws in his pockets.

Judy scoffed, her face red in embarrassment, “That's not true! I didn't have a naughty word in mind!” she cried with her fists balled up at her sides -- frustrated over how the fox knew that she was thinking of a bad word to describe her aunt.

“Relax. I'm just messing with you Carrots.”

Judy scoffed once more, crossing her arms in a huff and thumping her foot.

Nick smiled and shook his head, realizing how much the subject at hand had affected her. He approached her and placed a gentle paw at her shoulder, “Hey,” he then slowly moved it up to underneath her chin, lifting her gaze to him. “In all seriousness, don't let her get to you. Mammals like her aren't worth it to get sour over. Besides, it's not like every family doesn't have a rotten apple like her in it. I know, I had an aunt like her once.”

“Really?” Judy asked curiously as they continued their walk, “What happened to her?”

“Who knows,” he shrugged, “It’s been years since I did the whole family bit.”

“What do you mean?”

“What I mean fluff, is that I haven’t seen or known anything about my family since I was about twelve.”

“What?” Judy stopped in her tracks, unable to believe what he just said, “Why?”

“Eh. I just never found the point in having one. My dad ran off when I was about five and then I ran away from home at twelve.”

“That’s awful!” Judy cried, “Didn’t you worry about your mother? I’m sure she must’ve been worried sick about you.”

“She probably was,” Nick spoke sincerely, “But believe me Carrots. As much as it doesn’t seem like it. My whole running away was actually for her sake.”    

Judy raised a confused brow, not understanding.

Nick chuckled at how cute she looked whenever she seemed too innocent to understand anything, “Okay, I can see by your ‘dumb bunny gaze’ that, that doesn’t make any sense to you.”

Judy frowned, but Nick continued. “What I mean is, when you’re a fox and a fox of low status, that is. The world looks down on you the minute you’re born. So you normally have to look out for yourself, because there usually aren’t enough resources or job opportunities that come our way. At least not enough to feed more than one mouth at a time. I saw how difficult it was for my mom to provide enough food for us both--I mean, she wouldn’t say anything, but I could always tell that whatever food she managed to scrape up with her meager paycheck, almost all of it went to me. There were times she wouldn’t even eat dinner with me. She’d tell me she already ate, but I knew that wasn’t true. So…” Nick shrugged, “I left. I thought, best find my own way and that way she wouldn’t have to be sacrificing so much for my sake. I know now, it might not have been the best move, but at the time it seemed like the only one that made any sense to me.”

Judy watched him with a heartbroken gaze and placed a comforting paw at his arm, “I’m so sorry Nick. I didn’t know.”

Nick looked down at the smaller paw at his arm, feeling butterflies in his stomach at her soft touch. He lifted his gaze to her understanding eyes and felt a warm rush at his cheeks and heart. He cleared his throat and casually pulled away from her, “There’s no need to feel sorry, fluff. Last I heard, she was doing okay. I even managed to send her some of my earnings last month, but I still haven’t gone out to see her myself though.”

“You should,” she said with the same reassuring tone.

Nick sighed, unsure. “I don’t know Carrots. Maybe one day. But for now, I just settle for my homes away from home to get by.”

“Homes away from home?” Judy asked with a curious brow.

“Yup. Even someone like me still gets that old family sting. So I cope by having a new family for every day of the week. The thing is...none of them have me.”

“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” uttered Judy. Still confused by the logic of Nick’s statement.

“It’s simple. Let’s see,” Nick looked around, scanning the neighborhood. “Okay, come on. I’ll show you what I mean.” Nick lead her to a tiny middle class house, “Take the Shrewtz for example. I make this cozy little place, my Monday home.”

“Monday home?” Judy echoed in confusion. She took another look at the tiny house. “But, it’s so small. How do you sleep in there?”

“I don’t sleep in the houses Carrots,” Nick replied with a good hearted chuckle. “I just do them some favors and they pay me back in home cooked meals. See Mr. Shrewtz is in the construction business, and what I do is supply him with lumber at half the price he could get it at the lumber yard.”

“Oh, does that mean you’re in the lumber business, Nick?” Judy asked innocently.

“Eh,” Nick rubbed his neck, feeling a little embarrassed. “Not exactly. Let’s just say I...dabble. In different kinds of jobs. I do a little bit of this one day, then a little bit of that, and then other days I sell pawpsicle sticks to the Shrewtz. You know, I just do whatever gets food on one of the many tables I dine at. Und Mundays…” Nick said imitating a German accent, “...ist Mama Shrewtz’ blueberry pie nacht.” He gave Judy a wink, “Mm-mm! I don’t care how small they are, her pies are delicious!”

Nick lead Judy to another house. “Now O’Biters here,” Nick spoke in a high pitched Irish accent, “Is where this handsome lad ye see before ya Carrots, comes other Tuesday.”

“Other Tuesday?” Judy asked, finding the wording rather odd.

“Begora! That’s when those bears ‘r havin’ that darlin’ smoked salmon,” Nick said, still imitating an Irish accent.

“And what favor do you do for them?” Judy asked him curiously.  

“I managed to get Mr. O’Biters’ mother a much needed wheelchair when they couldn’t afford one. That and he also really likes pawpsicles and I sell him a bunch,”  Nick replied normally.

“You gave his mother a wheelchair? Nick, that’s so sweet of you,” Judy said with a smile and a paw cupped to her heart.

“Yeah, well…” Nick blushed at her words, rubbing the back of his neck in a combination of bashfulness caused by her sweet smile and of shame. Shame because he didn’t have the heart to tell her that he didn’t just ‘give’ the chair -- he sold it to the O’Biters -- at half the price they could have gotten it at a medical supply shop, but it was hardly an act of generosity when he still sold it to them at a price. Regardless of how low it was.

Nick cleared his throat, changing the subject. “You see Carrots. When you’re foot loose and free, well you take nothing but the best!” The two continued down the street toward the shop district.

Right across the street from them, Nick spotted a very familiar location, “Hey! Mr. Big’s! Of course! The very place, for a very special occasion.” The two approached the Italian style restaurant with Judy moving toward the restaurant’s main entrance and reaching for the door handle. “No, this way Carrots.” He held her paw and gently led her toward the alleyway next to the restaurant. “I have my own private entrance.” The two walked paw in paw, Nick just a little bit ahead of her. They stopped beside a pile of large crates that were just at the turn leading to the restaurant’s back door. “Wait here,” whispered Nick to Judy as he released her paw and headed toward the Dutch door that had the bottom half closed, but the top half open.

Judy watched Nick as he stepped up on a small crate just outside the door. He casually rested his elbow atop the bottom half of the door and knocked, “Garçon! Would you mind supplying me with your finest table this evening?”

“Nicky? Is that really you?” replied a tiny voice emanating from a large polar bear’s back. The bear was clad in a white chef’s outfit. The polar bear turned, revealing the source of the tiny voice -- an arctic shrew seated on the palm of his open paw. The shrew himself was seated on a small brown, swivel chair and had thick eyebrows and was dressed in a black suit. “How many times do I have to tell you that garçon is a Furench term. It does not apply to my business.”

“Come on Mr. Big, you know I only use that term in the fanciest of places to wine and dine,” Nick replied with a cheeky grin. The smooth talking fox glanced up at the gruff polar bear holding the shrew, “Hey Koslov, chipper as ever I see.”

“Mm,” replied the neutral faced polar bear with a rumbling growl.

“What do you want Nicky?” asked the arctic shrew of the fox, with a slight bit of annoyance in his voice.

Nick placed a paw at his chest and sighed, feigning hurt, “Mr. Big you wound me. Can’t an old friend just stop by and eat at his favorite establishment?”

“That would be nice if you finally started paying your meals. Or at least get me a good rug next time for the restaurant. You nearly put me out of business with the last one.”

Koslov glanced down at Nick with a low angry growl. Nick cowered a little with a nervous chuckle. “True, but I am the one who saved it when I got you that nice tile flooring and new chairs and tables. Not to mention I paid off the health inspector to give you time to renovate.”

“That's the only reason why I still let you come here and eat for free.”

“Okay, well how about this. If you do me this favor tonight, I promise you I’ll get you a brand new rug -- not a skunk one this time. I swear.”

“You guarantee it?” Mr. Big asked with a lift of his brow, attempting to read the sincerity of the fox.

“Scouts honor,” Nick said with a sincere smile and giving him the oath sign of the Junior Ranger Scouts.

Mr. Big hummed, knowing that whenever the fox gave him his scout’s honor, that meant that he was actually being honest. “Very well. I’ll do you this favor. But you better get me that rug.”

“I’ll get it even if I have to pluck it out of my own tail, because tonight is worth everything.”

“So what do you want, just your private table and the usual?” Mr. Big asked.

“Not exactly,” Nick said hopping off the small crate and heading in the direction of the other crates. Mr. Big and Koslov looked at one another, then curiously followed the fox. Reaching the crates, Nick extended a paw toward Judy, she took it and he brought her forth from hiding. “I’d like a table for two tonight.”

Mr. Big’s eyes came out from hiding underneath his thick eyebrows when he saw the bunny. Koslov too, couldn’t believe his eyes. They both knew this wasn’t the usual company Nick kept. No, this bunny was different -- very different from his usual taste.

“Hi,” Judy waved timidly at them.

“Huh,” hummed Mr. Big with a smile, “Look Koslov, Nicky’s got himself a new girlfriend.”

“Hm,” Koslov hummed, with a rather gentle smile toward the bunny.

New girlfriend? The bunny thought, curiously.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss…?” Mr. Big asked, extending his tiny paw toward the rabbit in greeting.

Judy rested her paw over his tiny one, allowing him to kiss it. “Hopps. Judy Hopps. It’s a pleasure to meet you both as well,” she said with a sweet and polite smile.

Koslov nodded with a heavy, yet friendly hum. Mr. Big chuckled, proud for Nick. This bunny truly was different. And by different, he meant better -- a lot better -- she was the kind of girl Nick needed. The kind who would bring out the good he knew was buried deep, deep down inside of Nick. “She’s a real sweetheart Nicky.” The shrew waved his tiny paw, signaling Nick to come closer. The fox came forward so the shrew could speak to him privately. “If you ever take my advice, take it now Nicky and settle down with this one.”

Nick eyed the shrew annoyed, but secretly felt himself blush at the suggestion. Mr. Big and Koslov headed back inside the restaurant to fetch a few things.

Despite them whispering, Judy’s long ears managed to hear everything, including one phrase that filled her with unease, “This one?” she asked Nick.

“This one--OH! Oh--Hehe,” Nick grew red in embarrassment knowing she overheard them. “That Mr. Big! He’s got a real big sense of humor,” he told the bunny, then nervously tugged at his shirt collar, clearing his throat. He sighed in relief once he saw Koslov come back out with a couple of chairs and a wide barrel covered with a checkered table cloth -- their table for the evening.

The large polar bear set Mr. Big on a high pedestal beside the table -- swivel chair and all. The large, silent polar bear then set the table decor, consisting of a basket of breadsticks and an empty bottle of fiasco serving as their candle.

As Koslov set the table, Nick pulled out one of the seats for Judy. “Your chair my lovely Carrots.” Judy smiled at his chivalry and sat.

“Why thank you Mr. Wilde.” Nick scooted her chair in and then took his own seat.

“Now,” Mr. Big said with a snap of his fingers. Koslov, the ever obedient worker quickly produced a menu from behind his back. He set it on the table before the young couple. “What's your pleasure? A'la Carte? One of my Granmama’s famous cannolis?”

Nick and Judy skimmed through the single page menu. They both lifted their gaze at each other, coming to a decision. “We’ll take a plate of your finest spaghetti, heavy on the tofu balls and carrot slices,” Nick answered on their behalf with a wink to Judy.

“Very good. You heard him Koslov, heavy on the carrots and tofu balls,” said Mr. Big to his associate. Koslov nodded and went back to fetch the plate of spaghetti, two forks, and an accordion. “Good idea Koslov,” said Mr. Big when he noticed the accordion.

Koslov served the young couple their plate of spaghetti. Nick and Judy eagerly took their forks and each took a turn tasting the spaghetti. The young couple noticed that they each had a string of spaghetti hanging from their mouths. They lightly chuckled and each took a turn slurping up their food -- first Nick, then Judy.

Mr. Big chuckled happily for them, “Now,” said Mr. Big, wanting to seal the deal between the two. “Enjoy your meal, while Koslov and I serenade you with a little music.” Koslov pulled out a small shrew sized mandolin from his pocket and handed it to Mr. Big. “Koslov?”

The stone faced Koslov pulled out a harmonica and blew on it, letting out a single shrill note. He then shut his eyes and cleared his throat. Upon reopening his eyes, he had a much more tender expression on his face. It was then that the normally silent polar bear began to sing in a deep yet tenderly romantic voice as he rang his accordion:

Oh, this is the night

It's a beautiful night,

And we call it bella notte,

The young lovers ate and happily watched them play. Judy sighed quietly, her ears relaxed behind her head and her heart became overwhelmed by all the romantic atmosphere as Koslov sang and played the accordion and Mr. Big played the mandolin just for her and Nick.

Nick meanwhile looked to Judy and smiled, happy to see that she was enjoying her evening just as much as he was.

Look at the skies,

They have stars in their eyes

On this lovely bella notte

As Koslov and Mr. Big continued to serenade them, Nick and Judy both dug their forks into the spaghetti and brought forth the food to their respective mouths -- unaware that they both happened to have picked up the same string of spaghetti. They each chewed on the string of spaghetti, both distracted by their musicians for the evening -- Judy on Koslov and his accordion, and Nick on Mr. Big and his mandolin. Still distracted, Nick and Judy inched closer and closer to one another's mouths and before they knew it…

Side by side

With your loved one,

Judy’s ears perked in surprise, as did Nick's, when they each felt the warmth of one another's lips on each other. Judy blushed and immediately pulled away with a bashful smile, her ears dropping in shy embarrassment. Nick meanwhile, smiled happily, his blush hiding perfectly underneath his red fur.

You’ll find

Enchantment here

The night will weave

Its magic spell

Nick ever the gentlemammal, took his fork and picked up the last carrot slice from the spaghetti and handed it over to the blushing bunny.

Touched, Judy placed a paw over his, paying no mind to the carrot on the fork in their paws, but only to the tender eyes of the sweet fox before her. She batted her eyes to him, causing Nick's heart to skip a beat.

When the one

You love is near,

For this is the night,

And the heavens are right

Judy gazed up at the sky, her ears relaxed behind her head, and her amethyst eyes sparkling brighter than the twinkling stars above them in the night sky.

On this lovely bella notte…

After a romantic candlelit dinner with serenading music, courtesy of Mr. Big and Koslov, Nick and Judy continued on their date. The song that Koslov had sung for them, still resonating in their minds.

They strolled around the neighborhood together, just walking and talking together. And above all, simply enjoying each other's company.

This is the night

It's a beautiful night,

And we call it bella notte

Look at the skies,

The two took a stop from their stroll when they came across some wet cement on the ground. Nick drew a large heart on the cement with an arrow crossing through it. Following suit, Judy crouched beside him and wrote her initials, ‘J.H.’ right next to a plus sign and his initials ‘N.W.’

As if the initials weren’t enough, Judy also placed a paw in the cement right beneath her initials. Nick grinned happily and took her example. He placed his own paw underneath his initials as well. Seeing both their differing paw structures side by side, filled them both with an unexpected sense of pride.

Nick smiled at Judy and she just lowered her gaze bashfully. Nick held his paw out to her and she took it.

They have stars in their eyes

On this lovely bella notte

The two strolled through the park, paw in paw as they passed another couple sitting on a bench. It seemed romance was everywhere this evening.

Side by side

With your loved one,

You’ll find

Enchantment here

The fox and bunny walked to a bridge, stopping right in the middle of it. With their paws still intertwined, they gazed at their reflection in the water as it shone beneath the moonlight. Two butterflies flew near the water, intertwining with one another.

Nick and Judy stared deeply into each other's eyes as the butterflies settled in the water for a second, causing gentle ripples to form over the reflection of the young lovers.

The night will weave

Its magic spell

When the one

You love is near,

Nick and Judy rested against a tree at a hilltop with a perfect view of the city. It was a popular gathering place for couples, as was evident by all the other couples that were also parked there in the neighboring hills. Judy rested her head against Nick’s shoulder, taking in the view and sighed contently.

Nick hummed happily towards her, “Have you enjoyed your evening, Carrots?”

“Mhm,” Judy hummed in response, “This has been the most wonderful night of my life.” She turned to him and gave him a tender kiss on the cheek, “Thank you Nick.”

Nick felt the skin beneath his fur burn red in bashfulness. Despite his fluttering heart, he felt emboldened by her act of affection. Nick placed a gentle paw beneath Judy’s chin and lifted her attention to him. He shook his head, “No, thank you.” He rested his lips against hers once more in a soft, loving kiss.

When their lips parted, they smiled at each other with evident blushes and affection upon their faces. Judy sighed and rested her head against his shoulder once again, placing a paw at his chest and seeking comfort in his arms. Nick in turn, wrapped both his tail and an arm around her and held her close. It was a strange yet wonderful feeling he felt in his heart. Whenever he would date a girl before, more often than not he was sick of them right after dinner or at the latest by the next morning. From there, he wouldn’t really care much if he’d ever see any of them ever again after their date.

But with Judy...things were different. He felt that he wanted her there, that he still wanted to see her there in his arms the following morning and to wake up to her sweet smile. He wanted to hold her for as long as he lived and never let her go.

Nick rested his head over hers, wholly relaxed and happy as they sat there underneath the moonlight.

For this is the night,

And the heavens are right

On this lovely bella notte…

[avengers-nextgen]

The Aftermath XVI

“I did some digging. Fox and Harper helped. I know where your mother’s friend is,” Drew dropped a thick file in front of Bianca on the desktop. The soldier stared a it with a burning gaze before looking up.

“If I wanted others in my business I would have asked,” Bianca frowned, pushing the folder aside.

“Yeah, no,” Drew settled her hand on the folder keeping it still. “You’re going to meet her.”

“Excuse you?” Bianca snorted, trying hard not to laugh. Drew remained completely unaffected by the anger in the other girl’s face. “You don’t get to tell me what to do.”

“Actually I asked your dad. He says it’s a good idea,” Drew replied.

Bianca wanted nothing more than to beat the other girl into a pulp. With anger barely in check her metal hand gripped the edge of the desk snapping a wooden corner off. “You brought my father in on this?”

“Get ready. You leave in five,” Drew turned curtly on her heel leaving Bianca to punch a joke through the drawer. She hated that girl. She couldn’t believe she’d ever even felt sorry for her.

— — —

“I’m not going,” Bianca growled, “I don’t want anything to do with them.”

“You’re going,” Bucky glared, “whether you want to or not.”

“You think meeting some woman is going to make me better?” Bianca demanded. “That it’s suddenly going to fix me? It’s not. Okay? So let me be-“

“Why? So you can destroy another desk?” Bucky arched a brow. “You need help. You have too much anger in you. You may do something you regret and I don’t want that to happen.”

“I’m angry because of this! Because people do stupid things like this. I don’t want to go. For once can you just let me do what I want?” Tears stung in Bianca’s eyes, but she knew Bucky would have her go. There was little she could do about it. She was stuck in a damn chair and there was no way to escape the mess.

As a result, Bianca found herself sitting beside her father as he drove down busy New York Roads. She didn’t talk, didn’t look at him, and didn’t bother to apologize for yelling at him. Bucky was fine with the silence. He supposed it was better than another argument, but he couldn’t help looking at her every now and then.

Once soft features seemed to be set in stone. There was so much anger in that young body he was surprised she hadn’t fallen completely apart yet. Focusing back on the drive Bucky navigated by memory to the address. He’d managed to memorize it.

“Come on,” He sighed, clambering out of the car to retrieve the wheelchair folded neatly in the back. Bianca refused to open her door leaving Bucky to do it with an irritated tug.

He helped her down with ease and before Bianca could try and roll away he kept a hand on the back of the chair. Shutting the door and locking the car he pushed her up to the door.

The home was small, quaint, with a white door, white frame work outlining the dirtied brick, flower boxes in the windows, and a sloping roof slightly weathered by age.

Bucky rang the doorbell and the pair waited anxiously for an answer. At last it came. The person who received them was a woman, pretty, dark haired, blue eyed, and short with a curvy build.

“Pleasure to meet you Ma’am,” Bucky smiler faintly, “Bianca and I are here in regard to a friend of yours from long ago. Her name was Olivia?”

“I-Oh I don’t take questions about her anymore,” The woman frowned, shifting nervously from foot to foot.

“Please?” Bucky insisted. “We aren’t here just because of old papers. It’s important. See-well, we know what happened to her. This is her daughter.”

The woman’s gaze settled on Bianca. The soldier got the impression she was being judged. Part of her wanted to bolt and the other was just stuck in a chair. Then, at last, the woman’s features softened. “My, you look like her. Come in, come in. I’m sorry for being calloused it’s just-“

“No worries Ma’am,” Bucky assured as Bianca brushed off his hands wheeling herself inside. “Is your husband home?”

“No, my husband and I...”The woman paused, “well, we left on bad terms.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Bucky frowned.

“It’s alright. Would you like anything to eat or drink?”

“No, that’s alright.”

“I believe I’ve seen you both in the news. Fighting crime and all. Must be exciting,” the woman moved to the living room still rather nervous in her habits.

“Ma’am as much as I’d love small talk I can’t waste too much time,” Bucky explained politely, “that crime needs a crime fighter you know.”

“Right, yes,” the woman nodded, taking a seat. “Well, I’ll tell you what you want but please...what became of Olivia?”

Bucky tried desperately to think of something to say wen Bianca spoke for the first time. The soldier’s voice was barely above a whisper. “She died.”

“Oh-oh god,” the woman’s hands shook with realization and she clutched the edge of the couch like a lifeline.

“She was part of an experiment. They wanted to make super soldiers,” Bianca whispered, “like my dad. It was a group called M.A.D. They had some of his DNA. So, they got to experimenting. Found a way to combine his DNA with the reproductive system of a mother. Most failed but I didn’t. She had me but...they killed her when they realized she was attached. When they didn’t need her anymore.”

“Darling I’m so sorry,” The woman wiped quickly at her eyes before taking Bianca’s. Hand in her own. “I’m sure she loved you. She had the biggest heart.”

“How-How did you know her?”

“Well, I guess I should start by saying my name. I completely forgot,” the woman sighed. “I’m Ashley Johnson and I met your mother in high school. We had the same schedule which was rare, mind you, and we were inseparable.”

“What was she like?” Bianca’s eyes lit up.

“She played basketball but he’d real love was hockey. Man, she was brilliant at it. I, on the other hand, stuck to cheerleading. Granted, it was difficult getting along with some of the girls. They weren’t fond of your mother,” Ashley sighed.

“Why?” Bianca frowned.

“Well, to them, girls just didn’t play hockey. Not to mention she was the heart throb of the school,” Ashley laughed. “Every boy and girl wanted her. She never gave them the time of day though. Always kept to herself. I never understood why but she told me she was waiting for the right person to come along.”

“Oh,” Bianca swallowed tightly. “What about you?”

“Well, she introduced me to my...husband. He was brilliant, charming, intelligent, and I loved him. We all went to college together. Got mother and I shared a dorm, and not a day goes by where I don’t recall some of our stupid schemes.” Bucky watched the way Ashley’s eyes seemed to look far away. As if she were re-living the memories. “She majored in engineering believe it or not. But her passion was helping people. She’d go all over helping build houses in Mexico or Colombia, anywhere and everywhere. It was her joy to make others happy.”

“Did she make you happy?” Bianca asked.

“Very,” Ashley nodded, wiping at another stray tear. “I’ve never had a friend like her since. She was my maid of honor at my wedding. And when I couldn’t conceive she offered-out of the blue-to help. To carry the child I couldn’t. I still remember the day she left to fill out the paper work.”

“Did she do it?” Bianca leaned forward expectantly.

“I don’t know...I never saw her after that.”

Bucky tried to keep himself from shedding any tears. The way this woman talked of Bianca’s mother made him sad that she’d had such a rotten shot at life. But then he recalled that he wouldn’t have Bianca without her.

“I’m sorry,” Bianca sniffed, wiping at her cheeks. “Do-do you know what her parents were like?”

“She never spoke much about them. Only that she always felt that she disappointed them. That she could never be enough or what they wanted. I never understood that. Olivia always seemed to be enough for anyone. She was intelligent, athletic, pretty, and all around the type of girl society adores. But I think that was the problem. She couldn’t be what people wanted-expected-of her,” Ashley smiled faintly, and studied Bianca’s face once more. “When she vanished life was hard. Hard on everyone who knew her. None of us realized how well she held us together. My husband grew angry that we couldn’t have a family. Hated that I was obsessed with finding out what happened to your mother. See, she had been sad lately. I’d noticed it for a month or so. She smiled less, came over for dinner less, seemed to be thinking of a million things at once, and she looked so lost. I was worried she’d done something irrational.”

“Do you know what upset her?” Bianca worried, as if knowing the information would somehow save her mother.

“No,” Ashley shook her head, “but I do know that something happened. Something happened and it hurt her. She was just too kind to ever say anything.”

“Why?” Bianca cried.

“I don’t know. But sometimes, we think we have to carry burdens alone and we don’t. There are things that are meant to be shared. We suffer because we can take it. That’s our trial in life. To grapple with what were given but we can have help. And it won’t be easy but nothing is ever impossible when you have people to help,” Ashley smiled, glancing momentarily in Bucky’s direction.

“Thank you for doing this,” Bucky sniffed, trying hard to smile.

“Of course. I’m just glad I know. I can finally have some peace about it. But you, sir, you take care of this one. Okay?” Ashley arched a brow.

“I will. Without Olivia I wouldn’t have Bianca and I think she’s done more for me than she possibly knows,” Bucky glanced at Bianca to see her watching him.

“Here,” Ashley stood, “before you go, there’s something you should have.”

Both Bianca and Bucky waited patiently until Ashley returned with a sweater far to big for herself.

“What’s that?” Bianca asked.

“It’s her old letterman’s jacket. She left it here the last time she came for dinner. I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of it. It’s all anyone had left of her. But it belongs to you,” Ashley, held the garment out but Bianca didn’t take it.

“I can’t. What will you have to remember her by?”

“I watch the news,” Ashley laughed, “I’ll see you and know somewhere she’s alright.”

— — —

Saying goodbye was hard, but with the jacket settled snugly on her shoulders Bianca let Bucky lift her into the car. Once he was situated she broke the silence. “I’m sorry I’ve been rude to you. I don’t mean it. I’m just...I’m just angry. Because I want to be better but I don’t want to wait forever for it.”

“I know,” Bucky sighed, “because I’ve been there. I just want to help you. You’re my kid. I don’t want to see you in pain.”

“Can we start over?” Bianca asked.

“Yeah,” Bucky smiled, ruffling her hair. “Why don’t we get something to eat?”

“I’d like that,” Bianca smiled.

[gaysparklepires]

9. Sure As Hell Didn’t See That One Coming

Read on AO3

Tip the Author a Coffee

I didn’t really know what my plan was.

I needed to be careful, avoid tipping Billy off, otherwise he’d call Sam and the game would be up. They’d cut me off and push me back. Probably try to make me angry, or even hurt me—somehow force me to phase so that Sam could lay down a new law.

But Billy was expecting me, knowing I’d be in some kind of state. He was in the yard, just sitting there in his wheelchair with his eyes right on the spot where I came through the trees. I saw him judge my direction—headed straight past the house to my homemade garage.

“Got a minute, Jake?”

I skidded to a stop. I looked at him and then toward the garage.

“C’mon kid. At least help me inside.”

I gritted my teeth but decided that he’d be more likely to cause trouble with Sam if I didn’t lie to him for a few minutes.

“Since when do you need help, old man?”

He laughed his rumbling laugh. “My arms are tired. I pushed myself all the way here from Sue’s.”

“It’s downhill. You coasted the whole way.”

I rolled his chair up the little ramp I’d made for him and into the living room.

“Caught me. Think I got up to about thirty miles per hour. It was great.”

“You’re gonna wreck that chair, you know. And then you’ll be dragging yourself around by your elbows.”

“Not a chance. It’ll be your job to carry me.”

“You won’t be going many places.”

Billy put his hands on the wheels and steered himself to the fridge. “Any food left?”

“You got me. Paul was here all day, though, so probably not.”

Billy sighed. “Have to start hiding the groceries if we’re gonna avoid starvation.”

“Tell Rachel to go stay at his place.”

Billy’s joking tone vanished, and his eyes got soft. “We’ve only had her home a few weeks. First time she’s been here in a long time. It’s hard—the girls were older than you when your mom passed. They have more trouble being in this house.”

“I know.”

Rebecca hadn’t been home once since she got married, though she did have a good excuse. Plane tickets from Hawaii were pretty pricey. Washington State was close enough that Rachel didn’t have the same defense. She’d taken classes straight through the summer semesters, working double shifts over the holidays at some café on campus. If it hadn’t been for Paul, she probably would have taken off again real quick. Maybe that was why Billy wouldn’t kick him out.

“Well, I’m going to go work on some stuff…” I started for the back door.

“Wait up, Jake. Aren’t you going to tell me what happened? Do I have to call Sam for an update?”

I stood with my back to him, hiding my face.

“Nothing happened. Sam doesn’t want to do anything till we know for sure the treaty’s been broken. Guess we’re all just a bunch of leech lovers now.”

“Jake…”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Are you leaving, son?”

The room was quiet for a long time while I decided how to say it.

“Rachel can have her room back. I know she hates that air mattress.”

“She’d rather sleep on the floor than lose you. So would I.”

I snorted.

“Jacob, please. If you need... a break. Well, take it. But not so long again. Come back.”

“Maybe. Maybe my gig will be weddings. Make a cameo at Sam’s, then Rachel’s. Jared and Kim might come first, though. Probably ought to have a suit or something.”

“Jake, look at me.”

I turned around slowly. “What?”

He stared into my eyes for a long minute. “Where are you going?”

“I don’t really have a specific place in mind.”

He cocked his head to the side, and his eyes narrowed. “Don’t you?”

We stared each other down. The seconds ticked by.

“Jacob,” he said. His voice was strained. “Jacob, don’t. It’s not worth it.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Leave Beau and the Cullens be. Sam is right.”

I stared at him for a second, and then I crossed the room in two long strides. I grabbed the phone and disconnected the cable from the box and the jack. I wadded the gray cord up in the palm of my hand.

“Bye, Dad.”

“Jake, wait—,” he called after me, but I was out the door, running.

The motorcycle wasn’t as fast as running, but it was more discreet. I wondered how long it would take Billy to wheel himself down to the store and then get someone on the phone who could get a message to Sam. I’d bet Sam was still in his wolf form. The problem would be if Paul came back to our place anytime soon. He could phase in a second and let Sam know what I was doing...

I wasn’t going to worry about it. I would go as fast as I could, and if they caught me, I’d deal with that when I had to.

I kicked the bike to life and then I was racing down the muddy lane. I didn’t look behind me as I passed the house.

The highway was busy with tourist traffic; I wove in and out of the cars, earning a bunch of honks and a few fingers. I took the turn onto the 101 at seventy, not bothering to look. I had to ride the line for a minute to avoid getting smeared by a minivan. Not that it would have killed me, but it would have slowed me down. Broken bones—the big ones, at least—took days to heal completely, as I had good cause to know.

The freeway cleared up a little, and I pushed the bike to eighty. I didn’t touch the brake until I was close to the narrow drive; I figured I was in the clear then. Sam wouldn’t come this far to stop me. It was too late.

It wasn’t until that moment—when I was sure that I’d made it—that I started to think about what exactly I was going to do now. I slowed down to twenty, taking the twists through the trees more carefully than I needed to.

I knew they would hear me coming, bike or no bike, so surprise was out. There was no way to disguise my intentions. Edward would hear my plan as soon as I was close enough. Maybe he already could. But I thought this would still work out, because I had his ego on my side. He’d want to fight me alone.

So I’d just walk in, see Sam’s precious evidence for myself, and then challenge Edward to a duel.

I snorted. The parasite’d probably get a kick out of the theatrics of it.

When I finished with him, I’d take as many of the rest of them as I could before they got me. Huh—I wondered if Sam would consider my death enough. Probably say I got what I deserved. Wouldn’t want to offend his bloodsucker BFFs.

The drive opened up into the meadow, and the smell hit me like a rotten tomato to the face. Ugh. Reeking vampires. My stomach started churning. The stench would be hard to take this way—undiluted by the scent of humans as it had been the other time I’d come here—though not as bad as smelling it through my wolf nose.

I wasn’t sure what to expect, but there was no sign of life around the big white crypt. Of course they knew I was here.

I cut the engine and listened to the quiet. Now I could hear tense, angry murmurs from just the other side of the wide double doors. Someone was home. I heard my name and I smiled, happy to think I was causing them a little stress.

I took one big gulp of air—it would only be worse inside—and leaped up the porch stairs in one bound.

The door opened before my fist touched it, and the doctor stood in the frame, his eyes grave.

“Hello, Jacob,” he said, calmer than I would have expected. “How are you?”

I took a deep breath through my mouth. The reek pouring through the door was overpowering.

I was disappointed that it was Carlisle who answered. I’d rather Edward had come through the door, fangs out. Carlisle was so... just human or something. Maybe it was the house calls he made last spring when I got busted up. But it made me uncomfortable to look into his face and know that I was planning to kill him if I could.

“I heard Beau made it back alive,” I said.

“Er, Jacob, it’s not really the best time.” The doctor seemed uncomfortable, too, but not in the way I expected. “Could we do this later?”

I stared at him, dumbfounded. Was he asking to post-pone the death match for a more convenient time?

And then I heard Beau’s voice, cracked and rough, and I couldn’t think about anything else.

“Why not?” he asked someone. “Are we keeping secrets from Jacob, too? What’s the point?”

His voice was not what I was expecting. I tried to remember the voices of the young vampires we’d fought in the spring, but all I’d registered was snarling. Maybe those newborns hadn’t had the piercing, ringing sound of the older ones, either. Maybe all new vampires sounded hoarse.

“Come in, please, Jacob,” Beau croaked more loudly.

Carlisle’s eyes tightened.

I wondered if Beau was thirsty. My eyes narrowed, too.

“Excuse me,” I said to the doctor as I stepped around him. It was hard—it went against all my instincts to turn my back to one of them. Not impossible, though. If there was such a thing as a safe vampire, it was the strangely gentle leader.

I would stay away from Carlisle when the fight started. There were enough of them to kill without including him.

I sidestepped into the house, keeping my back to the wall. My eyes swept the room—it was unfamiliar. The last time I’d been in here it had been all done up for a party. Everything was bright and pale now. Including the six vampires standing in a group by the white sofa.

They were all here, all together, but that was not what froze me where I stood and had my jaw dropping to the floor.

It was Edward. It was the expression on his face.

I’d seen him angry, and I’d seen him arrogant, and once I’d seen him in pain. But this— this was beyond agony. His eyes were half-crazed. He didn’t look up to glare at me. He stared down at the couch beside him with an expression like someone had lit him on fire. His hands were rigid claws at his side.

I couldn’t even enjoy his anguish. I could only think of one thing that would make him look like that, and my eyes followed his.

I saw him at the same moment that I caught his scent. His warm, human scent.

Beau was half-hidden behind the arm of the sofa, curled up in a loose fetal position, his arms wrapped around his knees. For a long second I could see nothing except that he was still the Beau that I loved, his skin still a soft, pale peach, his eyes still the same silvery grey. My heart thudded a strange, broken meter, and I wondered if this was just some lying dream that I was about to wake up from.

Then I really saw him.

There were deep circles under his eyes, dark circles that jumped out because his face was all haggard. Was he thinner? His skin seemed tight—like his cheekbones might break right through it. Most of his long, dark hair was pulled away from his face into a messy knot, but a few strands stuck limply to his forehead and neck, to the sheen of sweat that covered his skin. There was something about his fingers and wrists that looked so fragile it was scary.

He wassick. Very sick.

Not a lie. The story Charlie’d told Billy was not a story. While I stared, eyes bugging, his body convulsed and he started coughing.

The blond bloodsucker—the showy one, Royal—bent over Beau, cutting into my view, hovering in a strange, protective way.

This was wrong. I knew how Beau felt about almost everything—his thoughts were so obvious; sometimes it was like they were printed on his forehead. So he didn’t have to tell me every detail of a situation for me to get it. I knew that Beau didn’t like Royal. I’d seen it in the set of his lips when he talked about the blond. Not just that he didn’t like him. He was afraid of Royal. Or he had been.

There was no fear as Beau glanced up at Royal now. Beau’s expression was... apologetic or something. Then Royal snatched a towel from the nearby table and held it up to Beau’s face as he coughed violently into it.

Edward fell to his knees by Beau’s side—his eyes all tortured-looking—and Royal held out his hand, warning Edward to keep back.

None of it made sense.

When he could raise his head, Beau smiled weakly at me, sort of embarrassed. “Sorry about that,” he whispered to me.

Edward moaned real quiet. His head slumped against Beau’s knees. Beau put one of his hands against Edward’s cheek. Like he was comforting him.

I didn’t realize my legs had carried me forward until Royal hissed at me, suddenly appearing between me and the couch. He was like a person on a TV screen. I didn’t care he was there. He didn’t seem real.

“Roy, don’t,” Beau whispered. “It’s fine.”

Blondie moved out of my way, though I could tell he hated to do it. Scowling at me, he crouched by Beau’s head, tensed to spring. He was easier to ignore than I ever would have dreamed.

“Beau, what’s wrong?” I whispered. Without thinking about it, I found myself on my knees, too, leaning over the back of the couch across from his... husband. Edward didn’t seem to notice me, and I barely glanced at him. I reached out for Beau’s free hand, taking it in both of mine. His skin was icy cold. “Are you all right?”

It was a stupid question. He didn’t answer it.

“I’m so glad you came to see me today, Jacob,” he said.

Even though I knew Edward couldn’t hear Beau’s thoughts, he seemed to hear some meaning I didn’t. He moaned again, into the blanket that covered Beau, and Beau stroked his cheek.

“What is it, Beau?” I insisted, wrapping my hands tight around his icy, fragile fingers.

He didn’t answer me right away, he glanced around the room. Six pairs of anxious yellow eyes stared back at him. Finally, he turned to Royal.

“Help me up, Roy?” he asked.

Royal’s lips pulled back over his teeth, and he glared up at me like he wanted to rip my throat out. I was sure that was exactly the case.

“Please, Roy.”

The blond made a face, but leaned over Beau again, next to Edward, who didn’t move an inch. He put his arm carefully behind Beau’s shoulders.

“No,” I whispered. “Don’t get up…” He looked so weak.

“Oh, stop fussing,” He coughed, rolling his eyes, sounding a little bit more like his usual self. “I want to give you a hug.”

Royal pulled Beau off the couch. Edward stayed where he was, sagging forward till his face was buried in the cushions. The blanket fell to the ground at Beau’s feet.

He wasthinner. His clothes hung off his body, like he had been wasting away in the short month since I’d seen him last. He staggered forward, weakly holding his arms out to me. I stood up and caught him, and wrapped my arms around him as gently as I could. I felt like I would snap him in half if I wasn’t careful. His body felt small and cold in my arms.

“Jake,” He sighed. “I’m obviously not doing so great.” He tried to laugh, but he started coughing.

The blond jerked forward, hand outstretched.

“It’s fine, Roy,” Beau held back the coughs. “It’s—shoot, sorry Jake.”

I glanced down. I felt a chill run down my spine. There was blood on my chest where his head had been resting.

“Beau, babe,” I choked out the words. “What’s going on? How—why—”

“We don’t know, Jake,” He sighed. “It’s bad, though. We’re trying to fix it.”

I didn’t know what to think. If he was doing this badly, and if they were still tryingto fix it, well, that had to mean that they weren’t making good progress. Beau was dying, the longer I was here, the more I could smell it—the sickness—rooted deep inside of him, killing him, destroying him.

Some rare, obviously fatal disease picked up from the other side of the world. All because the bloodsucker had to take Beau away with him. Take him away, but not do a good enough job protecting him.

I always knew the bloodsucker would be responsible for killing him.

Edward’s head snapped up as he heard the words inside mine. One second he was on his knees, and then he was on his feet, inches away from my face. His eyes were flat black, the circles under them dark purple.

“Outside, Jacob,” he snarled.

I let go of Beau and turned to face the leech. This was why I was here.

“Let’s do this,” I agreed.

The big one, Emmett, pushed forward on Edward’s other side, with the hungry-looking one, Jasper, right behind him. I really didn’t care. Maybe my pack would clean up the scraps when they finished me off. Maybe not. It didn’t matter.

For the tiniest part of a second my eyes touched on the two standing in the back. Esme. Alice. Small and gentle looking. Well, I was sure the others would kill me before I had to do anything about them. I didn’t want to kill girls… even vampire girls.

“No,” Beau gasped, coughing as he stumbled forward, weak and out of balance, to clutch at Edward’s arm. Royal moved with him, like there was a chain locking them to each other.

“I just need to talk to him, Beau,” Edward said in a low voice, talking only to him. He reached up to touch his face, to stroke it. This made the room turn read, made me see fire—that, after all the pain he’d put Beau through, after letting him get so sick, he was still allowed to touch him that way. “Don’t strain yourself,” he went on, pleading. “Please rest. We’ll both be back in just a few minutes.”

Beau stared at his face, reading it carefully. Then he nodded and drooped toward the couch. Royal helped lower him back onto the cushions. Beau stared at me, trying to hold my eyes.

“Behave, Jake,” he insisted. “And then come back.”

I didn’t answer. I wasn’t making any promises today. I looked away and then followed Edward out the front door.

A random, disjointed voice in my head noted that separating him from the coven hadn’t been so difficult, had it?

He kept walking, never checking to see if I was about to spring at his unprotected back. I supposed he didn’t need to check. He would know when I decided to attack. Which meant I’d have to make that decision very quickly.

“I’m not ready for you to kill me yet, Jacob Black,” he whispered as he paced quickly away from the house. “You’ll have to have a little patience.”

Like I cared about his schedule. I growled under my breath. “Patience isn’t my specialty.”

He kept walking, maybe a couple hundred yards down the drive away from the house, with me right on his heels. I was all hot, my fingers trembling. On the edge, ready and waiting.

He stopped without warning and pivoted to face me. His expression froze me again.

For a second I was just a kid—a kid who had lived all of his life in the same tiny town. Just a child. Because I knew I would have to live a lot more, suffer a lot more, to ever understand the searing agony in Edward’s eyes.

He raised a hand as if to wipe sweat from his forehead, but his fingers scraped against his face like they were going to rip his granite skin right off. His black eyes burned in their sockets, out of focus, or seeing things that weren’t there. His mouth opened like he was going to scream, but nothing came out.

This was the face a man would have if he were burning at the stake.

For a moment I couldn’t speak. It was too real, this face—I’d seen a shadow of it in the house, seen it in Beau’s eyes and his, but this made it final. The last nail in Beau’s coffin.

“This… disease, it’s killing him right? He’s dying.” And I knew when I said it that my face was a watered-down echo of his. Weaker, different, because I was still in shock. I hadn’t wrapped my head around it yet—it was happening too fast. He’d had time to get to this point. And it was different because I’d already lost him so many times, so many ways, in my head. And different because he was never really mine to lose.

And different because this wasn’t my fault.

“My fault,” Edward whispered, and his knees gave out. He crumpled in front of me, vulnerable, the easiest target you could imagine.

But I felt cold as snow—there was no fire in me.

“Yes,” he groaned into the dirt, like he was confessing to the ground. “Yes, it’s killing him.”

His broken helplessness irritated me. I wanted a fight, not an execution. Where was his smug superiority now?

“So why hasn’t Carlisle done anything?” I growled. “He’s a doctor, right? Give him medicine, fix it.”

He looked up then and answered me in a broken voice. “Nothing is working.”

“What do you mean?”

“We weren’t lying to Charlie,” he whispered. “This sickness… it’s unpredictable, violent. One moment, Carlisle thought Malaria, then a strain of Dengue Fever. But just when he thinks he knows what it is—how to fight it—it shifts, and it gets worse. Beau is dying. His body is giving out on him. He’s burning up one moment, then freezing the next. He can’t keep food down, he’s coughing up blood. Every joint in his body hurts…” He pulled his fingers through his hair. “We can’t save him, not with any medicine we have here.”

“So take him to a hospital!” I snapped.

He shook his head slowly. “If we take him to a hospital…” He closed his eyes and sighed. “You have to know what our contingency is. If Beau is taken to a hospital, with this disease—it’s nothing seen here before. He’d be immediately quarantined, locked up in a lab somewhere while they watch him waste away so they can learn more about this mysterious new illness. I wouldn’t be able to save him through…”

He didn’t have to say it, I knew what he meant. I shuddered.

“I’m honestly surprised you haven’t already changed him, I mean, since you’ve already put him through so much hell.” I sneered.

His eyes met mine again. “He won’t let us.”

It took a minute for the words to sink in. Beau was dying of some insane disease, and the Cullens had their damned miraclecure, and he wouldn’t let them… It was so stubborn, so human… so Beau.

“You know him well,” he whispered. “How quickly you see… I didn’t see. Not in time. He wouldn’t talk to me on the way home, not really. I thought he was frightened—that would be natural. I thought he was angry with me for putting him through this, for endangering his life. Again. I never imagined what he was really thinking, what he was resolving. Not until my family met us at the airport and he stumbled right into Royal’s arms. Royal’s! And then I heard what Royal was thinking. I didn’t understand until I heard that. Yet youunderstand after one second…” He half-sighed, half-groaned.

“Just back up a second. He won’t let you.” The words were acid on my tongue. “So you weregoing to change him?”

“I wanted to,” he whispered. “Carlisle would have…”

So eager to make another reeking bloodsucker.

“No. Not at all. We knew early on; this sickness would kill him. Alice saw it. Changing him was the last thing I wanted to do. But it was the surest way to save him. I was ready to do it, but his bodyguard complicated things.”

Oh. His story hadn’t made much sense before, but it fit together now. So that’s what Blondie was up to. What was in it for him, though? Did the prom king want Beau to die so bad?

“Hardly,” he said. “Royal understands better than the rest of us how precious humanity is.”

Huh. Well, I guess I couldn’t hate the blond bloodsucker that much. He was keeping Beau human, at least.

“Yes, and ruined our chances of saving him,” Edward groaned. “I know Beau would never had forgiven me, I know it’s selfish, but I couldn’t watch him die. I told myself changing him was the right thing—I was only trying to save him. But now…” He shook his head, defeated. “The disease attacked his cardiovascular system.”

I raised an eyebrow, confused.

“His heart,” he snapped, “Beau’s heart. It’s weak. Too weak. He’d never survive the transformation process. His heart would give out and he would die.”

I took all this in for a second. Processed it. My anger was slowly being pushed out of the way for another emotion; despair. Beau was dying. There was no stopping it. Medicine couldn’t fix it, and now he couldn’t be changed. I was going to lose him.

“Congratulations, bloodsucker. I hope you’re happy with yourself.”

He stared up at me with a face that looked a thousand years old.

“Even you, Jacob Black, cannot hate me as much as I hate myself.”

Wrong, I thought, too enraged to speak.

“Killing me now doesn’t save him,” he said quietly.

“So what does?”

“Jacob, you have to do something for me.”

“The hellI do, parasite!”

He kept staring at me with those half-tired, half-crazy eyes. “For him?”

I clenched my teeth together hard. “I did everything I could to keep him away from you. Every single thing. You should have left him with me. Now it’s too late.”

He stared up at me from inside his own personal hell, and I could see that he agreed with me.

“You know him, Jacob. You connect with him on a level that I don’t even understand. You are part of him, and he is part of you. He won’t listen to me, because he thinks I’m just punishing myself. He won’t let me say anything…” He chocked and then swallowed. “He might listen to you.”

“Why would he?”

He lurched to his feet, his eyes burning brighter than before, wilder. I wondered if he was really going crazy. Could vampires lose their minds?

“Maybe,” he answered my thought. “I don’t know. It feels like it.” He shook his head. “I have to try and hide this in front of him, because stress makes him more ill. He can’t keep anything down as it is. I have to be composed; I can’t make it harder. But that doesn’t matter now. He has to listen to you!”

“I’m not going to march in there and convince him to hold on long enough for you to change him, bloodsucker!” I snarled. “You mustbe crazy if you think I’d do that.”

“I’m not asking that,” he whispered. “Carlisle thinks there’s a chance—a small chance—Beau cansurvive this. It won’t be easy, but it is possible if we do everything we possibly can.” He shook his head. “I don’t care about anything but keeping him alive,” he said, suddenly focused now. “If he can survive this, I want him to have a long human life. I want him to be happy. I understand now, that I can’t be a part of that happiness. We always end up here. Beau clinging to life, in mortal danger, and it ismy fault.” He paused and let out a slow, ragged sigh “I already knew I would do anything to keep him from dying but seeing him like this—knowing I would go so far as to take away his choice and—and changehim…” he choked on the words. “I need you to convince Beau that he belongs with you.”

He met my stare for a moment and his face was frenzied under the thin layer of control. My hard scowl crumbled as I processed his words, and I felt my mouth pop open in shock.

“Convince Beau that if he survives this, he needs to go with you. That he needs to stay here in Forks and live a long, happy life with you, Charlie, his human friends. I ama monster, Jacob Black. Don’t think I’ve ever for a moment thought otherwise. But I’m not a monster for the reasons you believe. I’m a monster because I would destroy his humanity just to keep myself from losing him. I am a monster because I am so selfish that I would end his mortal life to keep away the pain of his death.”

The noise coming from my throat sounded like I was choking.

Was he serious? After everything that had happened—everything I had tried to do—did he really think I could convince Beau to choose me? To love me?

“He does love you.”

“Not enough.”

“Maybe he does.”

“You really have lost your mind,” I mumbled.

“Please, Jacob.” His eyes were focused on me like lasers. “I know, I know it’s going to take a lot of convincing. That’s why I need you. You know how he thinks. Make him see sense.”

I couldn’t think about what he was asking. It was too much. Impossible. Rushing into that stinking house, getting down on one knee, and pleading Beau to leave his husband and run away with me? So messed up.

So tempting.

I didn’t want to consider, didn’t want to imagine, but the images came anyway. I’d dreamed about Beau loving me like that too many times, back when there was still a possibility of us, and then long after it was clear that the dreams would only leave festering sores because there was no possibility, none at all. I hadn’t been able to help myself then. I couldn’t stop myself now. Beau in my arms, Beau sighing my name.

I tried to put the idea out of my head. “Make Beausee sense? What universe do you live in?”

“At least try.”

I shook my head fast. He waited, ignoring the negative answer because he could hear the conflict in my thoughts.

“Where is this psycho crap coming from? Are you making this up as you go?”

“I can’t be allowed to love him anymore. Not when I’m willing to go to such extremes. I’ve lost the right to call Beau mine. He wants to stay human. I want him to stay human. If he survives this, I don’t know if I’ll be strong enough to keep myself from changing him if anything like this happens again. I don’t think I trust myself.”

“You’re one hell of a mess.”

“Help me,” he whispered. “Help me keep him human and happy.”

“He’ll never do it.” I growled. “He won’t choose me. He’s made that pretty clear.”

“Try. There’s nothing to lose now. How will it hurt?”

It would hurt me. Hadn’t I taken enough rejection from Beau without this?

“A little pain to save him? Is it such a high cost?”

“But it won’t work.”

“But it might. After everything, you don’t think I’m so egotistical that I can’t see how much he does love you?”

I hadn’t expected that. I didn’t have a comeback.

“Talk to him. Convince him. If he chooses you, I won’t fight.”

I couldn’t believe I was thinking about this. I shouldn’t let him talk to me, mess with my head. I should just kill him now.

“Not now,” he whispered. “Not yet. Right or wrong, it would destroy him, and you know it. No need to be hasty. If he doesn’t survive… The moment Beau’s heart stops beating, you’ll get your chance. I will be begging for you to kill me.”

“You won’t have to beg long.”

The hint of a worn smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I’m very much counting on that.”

“Then we have a deal.”

He nodded and held out his cold stone hand.

Swallowing my disgust, I reached out to take his hand. My fingers closed around the rock, and I shook it once.

“We have a deal,” he agreed.

[dominicffs]

a serious injury | dimone

dominic gets hurt pretty bad. simone has to take care of him. some bonding ensues.

Dominic had been experimenting with different magical and muggle technologies all month. For the most part, he'd been doing alright. He'd figured out a way to use phones for the barest of muggle necessities. However, he was getting into deeply unexplored territory, and he was a bit in over his head, whether he knew it or not. Something he had done had backfired, and he found himself in excruciating pain. He did the only thing he could think to do, apparating to St. Mungo's and asking for Simone. He smiled a pained smile when he saw her. "Hi, hey. I uh, I did something and I need your help please," he said quickly.

Simone found herself incredibly busy. She'd been moving between departments, helping out where she could as a few of her colleagues hadn't shown up. She'd spent quite some time trying to fix a man whose friend had drunkenly tried to transfigure into some kind of animal and then had to discharge a few of her patients from the night before. When a coworker told her someone was asking for her, she went to the front desk and frowned when she saw Dominic. "What happened? What's going on?" she asked, moving quickly to his side. "Are you alright? Do you need a wheelchair? What happened?" she asked again, worry creeping into her voice.

Dominic held onto her shoulder, though not too tightly, not wanting to hurt her. "I'm not feeling too good. There's this sort of pain kind of everywhere and my hands feel really hot and I kind of have chills," he explained. "I don't think I need one, no, but, I really really hurt. I don't know what happened. I was experimenting with something and something went wrong and Merlin it hurts so bad. Please help me," he begged. He just needed something to stop the hurting. He needed more protection next time, clearly.

Simone wrapped an arm around him, concern etching its way across her face. She nodded as he spoke, trying to piece together all of his symptoms to come up with a diagnosis. "Okay," she frowned, brows furrowed slightly. "I can fix that." She nodded at the boy behind the desk and he brought her a wheelchair that she gently eased Dominic into. "If you're hurting this terribly I'm not going to make you walk," she said quietly. "I'm going to help you, don't worry. Let's get you into a room and we'll see what we can do about the pain, alright? Hang in there, love," she frowned as she pushed him into a room.

Dominic honestly had no idea how this had happened. He never had messed up this badly before. He nodded a bit, not feeling like arguing with her about how he could walk there himself. "Okay, thank you," he said, getting into the wheelchair. He had no idea what was going to fix this, but he felt absolutely terrible. He knew he wouldn't have been able to fix it himself, so he was just glad that he knew someone here who would help him so quickly.

Simone took him into an empty room, her mind still reeling as she tried to figure out what she could do for him. She didn't know much about the muggle technology that he experimented with nor did she know what could have possibly caused such a reaction in him. She walked around the chair so she was in front of him and placed her hand on his forehead and then on the back of his neck. "You definitely have a fever," she frowned a bit. "Let's get you up on the bed," she suggested, offering him her hand. "You're showing signs of ague, Dominic. I'm going to get you a potion to take care of that and something for your pain but until I can figure out what is causing it, I'm afraid I can't exactly fix it," she explained as she walked with him to the bed.

Dominic sat, waiting to see what she was going to do. He frowned when she told him he had a fever. He hadn't had a fever in ages. He nodded a bit, taking her head and getting himself situated on the bed. "Okay, thank you," he said quietly. He was worried he'd messed himself up real bad. He didn't want to be hurt permanently. He hoped she could figure something out for the pain, even if it was just temporary, because it was sort of hard to ignore. He just wanted to feel better.

Simone felt like her hands were shaking but she busied them so he didn't catch on. Dominic couldn't be hurt. He was her... nothing yet, but he was an option. He was the only man she'd met that genuinely cared for her and not just as a match. Wren didn't count as their parents talked of a match, but Dominic? He'd wanted to be her friend and she'd started to feel things for him. She found the potion, checking the date on the model and the witch who had made it before returning to his bedside. "It won't taste good," she whispered, holing it to his lips, she brushed a bit of hair out of his eyes and kept her hand against his cheek. "Even if it tastes rotten, drink the whole thing Dominic. I'm begging you," she said, her voice breaking.

Dominic laid back, trying to just put himself out of the situation. "That's fine," he whispered, sitting up a bit. He parted his lips, drinking it down as she spoke, squeezing his eyes shut and wincing a little. It tasted so terrible, he could hardly stand it, but he was already starting to feel things subside. "It was rotten," he admitted, wiping his mouth a little as he finished. "Do you have any water? Is that okay for me?" he asked her, brushing some of his hair back from his face.

Simone held the little vial of potion for him, frowning when she saw him wince. She hated that he was in pain and had to drink something so vile just to make him better. She moved it away, checking to make sure it was empty and letting out a relieved sigh that it was. "I'm so sorry," she said quietly before getting up to get him a glass of water and another potion, this one to help ease his pain. She sat down on the edge of the bed next to him, watching him sip it. "Did it help any?" she asked, holding the other vial until he was ready to drink it. "This one isn't as bad. It'll help with the pain and then I can figure out what's causing it."

Dominic shook his head, trying to ease her guilt. "It's fine. You're doing your job. It's not your fault," he said quietly. He sat up a bit, taking a drink of the water she handed him. He nodded a bit. "Yeah, I think so," he said, taking another drink of water. He nodded, taking the vial. "Okay. I'm ready," he said, drinking it back as quickly as he could. He handed her the empty vial, letting out a small sigh. He drank more of the water, setting that down on the table next to him. "I'm sorry to have asked for you by name. I just knew you would be here and I needed someone," he admitted.

Simone still felt bad for him and she wished the healing process could be easier. It was sweet that he wanted to reassure her though, even though he was the one who was hurting. "I'm still sorry," she said, though she smiled a bit. She waited while he finished the other potion and disposed of the vial, filling up his glass with more water. "No, no, don't be silly. I'm glad that you asked for me, that you thought of me when you were hurt. I'd have been upset if I found out you were here and didn't tell me," she admitted, touching his forehead again to see if he felt any cooler. "What is it that you were doing? Where does it hurt the most?"

Dominic smiled weakly at her, appreciating that she felt bad, even though none of this was her fault. She was fixing him. At the very least, she was trying. "S'okay," he promised. He nodded a bit, thinking that made sense. He just knew he could trust her, knew he needed someone he could rely on. He felt better already, though he had to admit it was still there. "I don't even remember, honestly. I don't think I was doing anything that unusual. I was messing with something. What was it?" he paused, trying to think. "Um, this thing muggles use to warm food," he explained. "My hands, mostly. They feel hot."

Simone tried to focus less on her concern for him and more on making him feel better but it was hard knowing that he was in pain. She hated to see it. She moved her hand away, frowning slightly as he spoke. She had no idea what he was talking about and had no idea how to treat something without understanding. She took one of his hands carefully, looking it over but being gentle enough to not bother him. "You've burned them," she frowned after a long moment, taking out her wand. She focused on the spell, tapping her wand lightly against his palms. "I'll get you a salve for them as well. You shouldn't work on dangerous things alone, Dominic. It isn't safe."

Dominic watched as she took his hands carefully. It didn't feel like a normal burn, that much was for certain. He hoped that even though it didn't feel normal, she'd still be able to fix them. "Thank you," he mumbled. "I know. I should probably work on being safer," he said, mostly to himself. He was in new territory, in a sense. There weren't many safety precautions he knew about, which made it hard to follow them. "I'll try," he muttered, mostly to himself.

Simone frowned as she worked on his hands, touching them as delicately as possible. "I don't know how long it'll take to fix them completely," she admitted, an apologetic smile on her lips. "But I can stop the pain and speed up the process as much as possible," she told him as she gingerly put his other hand down and summoned the cream that she knew would help. "You should at least have someone with you, like your siblings or Dot. What if you hadn't been able to apparate here? You could have been hurt severely and alone for hours until someone found you," she chastised him, dabbing the cream on his hands. "Then I might not have been able to fix you."

Dominic was glad he was in such skilled and trustworthy hands. He really felt like he could put his care in her hands and not worry about it. "However long it takes," he said honestly. "If you have anything that will numb it until you can fix them, that would be greatly appreciated," he said with a small smile. He bit the inside of his cheek as she scolded him, putting the cream on him. "They aren't always available," he mumbled. He let out a small sigh. "That wouldn't have been good. Maybe I can get an assistant," he said, though he didn't really know how that would play out.

Simone felt a little bit frustrated with him though she knew it wasn't really fair for her to be. He just could have been seriously hurt and it pained her to think about it. "That is what the cream is for," she said, choosing her words carefully so she didn't sound as worried as she felt. She was careful with his hands, delicately applying the ointment to the barely noticeable marks. "Then you should wait until someone is available, Dominic. Or at least warn someone when you're going to be messing with something that can hurt you. I," she cut herself off, shaking her head. "I don't want to not be able to fix you."

Dominic felt relief washing over him, slowly but surely, as her magic and her cream kicked in. He took a deeper breath, feeling like the air was purer. He closed his eyes, letting her take care of him. He could hear the genuine concern and kindness in her voice, and now that he was feeling more himself and less focused on his pain, he found it endearing. He opened his eyes a bit, watching over her features for a moment, before closing his eyes again. "I'll be more careful in the future. I promise. Even if it means I have to stop experimenting for a while," he promised. "You'll always be able to fix me," he insisted.

Simone watched him close his eyes and realized she didn't have to work so hard to keep her expression neutral anymore. She frowned a bit more, looking at him with more concern before focusing back on his hands. She wasn't entirely sure if she believed that he'd be more careful, if she were being honest, but she did believe that he meant the words now. She flicked her gaze up at him again for a moment before letting out a sigh. "Just don't go and blow yourself up," she said finally. "I wouldn't be able to fix that. There's a lot that I wouldn't be able to fix and I think that your friends would be devastated if something like that happened."

Dominic inhaled a deep breath and sighed slowly. He could tell she was worried, but he didn't understand why. She had already helped him feel so much better. He could think and talk and not feel like he was going to die on the spot. And he promised he'd be more careful. He really would, too. It would be a real pain, but it would probably be worth it in the end. "I don't go and blow myself up. I may not be a healer, but even I know dead means dead," he promised. "Listen, I'm seriously. I'll be careful."

Simone let go of his hand after she was satisfied that she'd done what she could for them. She ran over the list of his symptoms in her mind again as she stood up to wipe her hands off. "Alright," she said simply. "If you insist. I'll be telling Rosalind to keep an eye on you, though. And Nikolai, as well," she added, thinking of how often he worked at the bar. That way he could let his hands heal before doing too much with them. "How are you feeling, then?" she asked, stepping close to his bed once more.

Dominic figured she'd be telling them. Even if she hadn't, he didn't really see how they wouldn't find out anyway. "That's fair," he said. He wasn't really sure how much Nikolai would care, but he'd have to know because of the bar, if for no other reason. He nodded a bit at her question. "Better," he said. He still felt faint pain and slight warmth, but it was manageable. "Thank you so much. You have no idea how grateful I am for you," he said honestly.

Simone smiled a little bit, pleased that he wasn't going to argue with her about that. It was nice that he wasn't the argumentative type like so many of her patients were. She sat down on the edge of his bed again when he said he was feeling better, reaching up to touch his forehead again. "Good. You don't feel as hot to the touch anymore," she told him. She smiled again at his thanks, letting her hand fall away. "You don't have to thank me. It's what I'm here for," she added. "Is there anything I can get for you?"

Dominic didn't know what had happened to him, but he hoped that whatever it was would go away soon enough. He wasn't going to go right back to work, because he needed to find an assistant of sorts, but the sooner he was better the sooner he could find an assistant. "Just because it's your job doesn't mean I'm not incredibly thankful," he smiled a bit. He thought for a moment, frowning a little. "More water, if it's not too much trouble," he said. He couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was. She just always had this natural, simple, incredible beauty to her. How had he never noticed it?

Simone thought it was sweet that he wanted to insist upon how grateful he was for her help. She smiled at him a bit more, shaking her head slightly. "I'm happy to help," she smiled. "I'm glad you came to me," she added, touching his arm gently. She reached for the glass, tapping her wand against it to refill it. "Here you are, mon cher," she said softly, handing him the glass. "I think you'll feel better if you get some rest. I can get you something to help you sleep for a little while and then perhaps I'll see about letting you go home?" she offered. She didn't want to send him home too soon and have him have to come all the way back because he was feeling poorly again.

Dominic felt his lips turn up a bit at the way she smiled at him. "I'm glad you could see me," he insisted. She had provided him such excellent care, and it was so clear she truly cared deep down in her heart. It was nice to have a familiar face caring for him, too. "Thank you," he said, picking up the glass and taking a sip. He nodded a bit. "That sounds good. Thank you, again," he insisted, so thankful to have the pain subsiding. "If I have to stay longer, I'll understand and won't argue, I swear," he smiled a bit.

Simone thought she would have stopped what she was doing to take care of him if she'd been busy. She wasn't sure that was something she could really fess up to, though. "Of course," she promised. "It's my pleasure." She waited while he took a sip of the water, smiling at him. "You're very welcome. I'm glad that I could help," she said. She let out a quiet laugh when he said he wouldn't argue, thinking he was cute. "Thank you for not being difficult," she teased, rubbing his arm gently. "I appreciate that." She stood up to get a potion to help him sleep for a bit. "If you have someone to look after you, though, I can likely send you home earlier."

Dominic couldn't help but feel that Simone was truly one of a kind. She was just so pure. She had such a good heart. He nodded a little, smiling at her. "I'm glad you could help, too," he laughed a bit. He smiled at her, glad he could be of any help, even if that just meant not being annoying. "You're welcome," he grinned. He thought for a moment and nodded. "I can ask Rosie to come, if she isn't too busy. She can always get our mum to come watch after me when she has to work," he said, mostly thinking outloud.

Simone was quite used to patients insisting they were alright and demanding to go home because they were feeling better. If Dominic had been like that, it would have been exhausting to try and convince him that he needed rest. She was so glad that he was eager to comply. "Is she off work already?" she asked, looking back at him as she found the potion she wanted. "That sounds nice. Your mother coming to watch you, I mean," she explained as she sat on the edge of his bed again. "I'll write to your sister while you rest."

Dominic shook his head in response to her question. Rosie wouldn't be off until later in the evening, but he was certain she wouldn't mind getting him once she was off. "She will be later," he explained. He thought it was nice, too. She had a job and all now, but she would find the time. She wouldn't really know what to do if something went wrong, but she could get his owl to send a letter to Nik, who likely could come no matter what the time. "It is nice of her," he agreed. He nodded, taking the potion from her. "Thank you. Do I drink the entire potion?" he asked.

Simone realized that made sense. Of course Rosalind wasn't off yet. It wouldn't matter if she was, anyway, as Dominic needed to sleep first. That had slipped her mind already and she figured it was because she was still worried about him. "That makes sense," she smiled. "Your mother sounds lovely," she added after a moment. She nodded at the question, holding his water for him so he could take a sip after he took the potion. "Yes, all of it. I'll check in on you when I can. If you wake up and I'm not here, you can just ask someone to get me," she told him.

Dominic smiled a bit at her kindness. He took the potion, downing it, then taking the water and downing that, too, washing away the taste. "Thank you. I'll make sure to ask someone to get you if I need you when I wake up," he smiled. "Thank you again, Simone," he said quietly, starting to drift to sleep already. He slept like that comfortably for hours, stirring a while later. When he woke up, he felt the excruciating pain again. He quickly got someone's attention, asking them to get Simone for him.

Simone watched him take the potion, taking the empty bottle from him and then his glass when he finished that. "You're welcome. Get some rest, Dominic. You need it," she insisted, touching his hand. She waited while he drifted off before getting up to go back to work. She checked in on him every so often, touching his forehead to make sure he wasn't getting too hot. When she wasn't in his room, her thoughts were, and she worked extra hard to keep her focus on her other patients. When someone came to get her, she went quickly back to his room, smiling slightly. "How are you feeling?"

Dominic sat up carefully, wrapping himself tightly in his blanket. "The pain is back. Your potion helped, but the pain is back. What did I do to myself?" he said, his voice kind of shaky. "What did I do?" he whispered, tears coming to his eyes. He was so scared. What if she couldn't get to the root of his pain? What if he always felt like this? "Please. You have to figure out how to fix me. Please," he begged, his voice weak.

Simone felt the smile drop from her face instantly and she moved to his bedside quickly. "It's back?" she repeated, trying to keep her voice steady and professional. "In your hands or everywhere?" She went back to the cabinet, finding a stronger potion than she'd given him before and brought it back to him. "It's okay, it's alright," she insisted, holding it up for him to take. "I will fix it. Don't worry, mon cher. I will fix you, I promise. Take this," she told him, forcing herself to give him a comforting smile. What if she couldn't fix him? What would she do?

Dominic nodded a little, clearing his throat and trying to compose himself. "Everywhere. The burning is gone, but there's just aching pain," he explained. He was so scared. Oh god, he was so scared. He leaned forward, holding the bottle with her and swallowing down all of it. "I'm so sorry. I don't know what happened. I'm so so sorry," he whispered, trying not to cry. He pulled his blankets tighter, taking deep, purposeful breaths. He reached for her hand, holding it carefully. He had never felt so dependent.

Simone tried to think what she could possibly do to fix him. "Okay. Okay, I understand. Just relax," she insisted, her tone soothing. She watched as he took the potion and set the empty bottle down when he was finished. "Don't apologize, Dominic. It's not your fault, please don't apologize," she insisted. She let him take her hand, sitting down next to him and rubbing the hand that she held. "Don't cry. It's alright. I will fix this, I promise you. Just breathe," she murmured, mentally going through a list of what she could do to ease his pain.

Dominic took a deep breath, letting it out slowly and trying to relax. He felt so bad that he'd caused such a mess. He hadn't meant to. He nodded a little, closing his eyes for a moment. He rubbed circles on her hand, holding her close for as long as he could. "I'm trying, I promise," he whispered. He closed his eyes, just focusing on breathing. He felt a bit more relaxed, and the pain was starting to go away, but it was still there a little. "You can do whatever tests on me that you need to. In case I fall asleep again," he said quietly.

Simone rubbed his hand as she thought, biting the inside of her cheek. What was she missing? What was wrong with him? She'd have to ask someone for help, she thought, and she felt a bit of like a failure for not being able to figure it out herself more quickly. "Shh," she whispered, giving his hand a squeeze. She moved her other hand to his forehead, checking his temperature. "I will. You just try and rest and not worry. "Is there anything I can do to make you more comfortable? Do you want me to write Rosalind again and ask her to come now? Will she make you feel better? Or another one of your friends, maybe?" she offered.

Dominic hoped she could figure it out. He was so mad at himself for ruining everything. "You being here makes me feel plenty comfortable. Just you," he said again, nodding a bit. He could feel the pain dull. He hoped he wouldn't have to be here for too long while she figured out what was wrong with him and worked to make him better. "Can you stay here between trying to figure out what's wrong with me?" he asked quietly. He didn't really want her to leave, in all honesty.

Simone smiled slightly, nodding once. "Alright. If that's what you want," she spoke quietly. She considered his question, thinking of the patients she'd been taking care of. They were all stable and the other healers could check on them. "I can stay. I won't leave the room unless I have to, I promise," she told him. "Get some sleep," she added quietly. "I think it'll be good for you." She waited while he drifted off before standing up and starting to run some tests on him. She wanted to have a solid treatment plan for him before he woke up.

Dominic nodded. He really wanted her to stay, but he would understand if she had other things to do. "Thank you," he smiled a bit. He didn't want to be a trouble, and he was admittedly worried he was being a bit of a pain. That was the last thing he wanted. "I'll try. Thank you for taking such good care of me," he said quietly, smiling a bit again. He turned, getting comfortable, and let himself drift to sleep. When he woke up hours later, the pain had gone away, but he had a nagging fear it would come back. "Hi," he said quietly, not wanting to startle her.

Simone stayed in the room with him for the rest of the day, not wanting to go back on her promise to him. The other healers had looked after her other patients while she focused on running tests on Dominic to figure out the source of his pain. She'd had a bit of help at one point but she was fairly certain that they'd found a way to take care of him and completely rid him of pain. She turned at the sound of his voice, smiling as she walked back over to his bed. "Hello, sleepyhead," she teased, sitting next to him. "How are you feeling?"

Dominic moved his legs a bit to make sure she had plenty of space and offered her a small, weak smile. "Much better. Anxious, but the pain isn't a bother right now," he said honestly. "Were you able to figure anything out?" he asked quietly. He didn't want to be a bother and feel like he was pushing her, but if there was an update of some sort, he wanted to hear it.

Simone took his hand after a moment, giving him an encouraging smile. "I'm glad. I was hoping I'd done enough to make sure it didn't come back as strong," she explained. "I did. I had some help. We figured out what was causing it. It's a bit hard to explain but when what you were doing backfired, it set a bit of magic off inside of you and we have to make a few repairs, as it were." She hoped she was making sense. "It'll take about a week and you'll have to stay here so I can keep an eye on you and make sure you're taking the potions at the right times. You're going to be just fine, though, I can promise you that," she said with a smile.

Dominic listened carefully as she spoke, sitting up a bit so he felt like he was better processing everything she said. He frowned a little, nodding as she spoke. He smiled when she said he was going to be just fine. "Sounds really complicated. You're amazing. Thank you so much for figuring out how to fix me," he smiled. "Did you by chance hear back from my sister? I need to make sure she knows everything will be okay before she makes my mum all scared," he said with another smile.

Simone felt her smile widening when he smiled at her. He had to be feeling better if he was smiling. "It is complicated. That's why I couldn't figure it out by myself," she admitted, rubbing his arm gently. "You're very welcome. It's what I'm here for. I'm just so glad you're feeling better," she added. "I did. We have been communicating while you slept. I told her she didn't need to rush over as I had an eye on you and then I let her know you'd be staying here for a few days. She's going to stop by later."

Dominic was glad she figured it out, even if she'd needed some help. "You still did it. I knew you could, even if you needed help," he smiled. "I'm glad I'm feeling better, too," he laughed a little, smiling fondly at her. He nodded a little, relieved that Rosie was all caught up and wouldn't be worrying too much. "Thank you. You truly are incredible, you know that?" he smiled. He sat up a bit, reaching out to take her hand and giving it a squeeze. "Thank you so much, Simone," he smiled.

Simone thought it was sweet that he had been so sure she could help him. She didn't know what she'd done to warrant such faith but she wouldn't question in. "Well, it's my job," she laughed a little, trying to brush it off. She felt a bit flush when he complimented her again and she looked down at their hands with a smile. "Thank you," she said, looking up at him again. "But you really don't have to keep thanking me," she reminded him. "I was really worried about you, Dominic," she admitted, biting the inside of her cheek.

Dominic knew it was her job, but that didn't mean he would have trusted anyone to help him. "Maybe so, but you're the only person I trusted to take care of my properly," he smiled a bit. He couldn't help but notice the way she looked at their hands, and he briefly worried he was stepping out of line. But then, he sort of felt a flutter at the thought that maybe she didn't really mind it. "You're welcome," he smiled. He laughed a little and nodded. "Okay, I'll stop," he decided. He made a face and nodded. "I know. I'm sorry. I promise I'll be more careful next time," he said, frowning a bit.

Simone had to remind herself that he didn't have the same type of feelings for her that she had for him. Hearing that he trusted her with something as important as taking care of him just did something to her. "That's very sweet," she told him, giving him a soft smile. "I'm just happy that I could help you," she admitted. She smiled when he made a face, squeezing his hand a little bit. "Please do be more careful. I don't think I'd be able to bear something happening to you again," she admitted quietly.

Dominic didn't really think he was trying to be sweet, it was just true. He trusted her a ridiculous amount. He smiled back at her, equally soft. "I'm glad you could, too," he said honestly. He squeezed her hand back, holding it tightly. "I promise I will. It'll be a pain, but it'll be worth it," he said. He thought it was interesting how much she didn't want to see something happen to him, but he didn't want to see something bad happen to her either.

Simone wouldn't have forgiven herself if she hadn't been able to fix him. It likely wouldn't have been her fault but she still didn't think it was something she'd get over. She put her other hand on top of the one she held, still smiling at him. "It will be worth it if it keeps you alive," she reminded him, her tone slightly playful. "Your sister should be here soon," she said after a moment. "I'm sure she'll be really glad to see you."

Dominic smiled sweetly at her, nodding a little. "It will be worth it if it keeps me alive," he agreed. He nodded a bit. "I'm sure she will," he agreed. "I really appreciate everything you've done for me. I know, I know, it's your job, but you didn't have to sit with me all night. I appreciate that," he smiled. He heard a knock and looked up to see Rosalind. "Come in," he said, nodding in. She rushed over to him, hugging him tightly, and then leaning back and pushing him. "You're so stupid. You could have gotten seriously hurt. You could have died! I need you alive. We all do," she said, hugging him again, tears making his clothes damp. He hugged her back, reluctantly letting go of Simone's hand. "I know, I know. Thank Simone for helping me so much," he said, nodding at her. Rosie turned, hugging Simone tightly. "Thank you," she whispered, holding her close.

Simone decided not to push his appreciation off again, deciding instead to simply smile at him. "You're welcome, I mean it. It wasn't any trouble to sit with you. It was rather nice, actually. It was quiet and I caught up on my charts," she explained, nodding by the stack on the chair she'd been sitting in. When Rosalind showed up, she moved out of the way a bit, feeling a bit like she was intruding. The girl made a good point, though. Simone definitely needed him alive. She let go of his hand, taking a step back and glancing towards the door. "Oh, no, don't thank me-" she started but was cut off by the hug. "It wasn't any trouble or anything," she replied, hugging her tightly.

Dominic was glad she'd been able to get things done and he hadn't just eaten up her time. "I'm glad to hear that," he said with a smile. Dominic smiled as his sister hugged Simone, happy for the attention being off of him for a moment. Rosalind hugged her tightly, not letting go yet. "Shut up, Simone. I'm thankful you helped him. You know some people would have been too scared to help him. You took care of him," she insisted, pulling back and smiling at her friend. "Thank you," she insisted. "Can I stay with him tonight by chance?" she asked her.

Simone looked over at Dominic as his sister hugged her, smiling at him. She laughed a little when Rosalind told her to shut up, giving her a little squeeze. "I didn't say I wasn't scared," she told her as she pulled back. "Just ask your brother," she smiled. She felt a bit uncomfortable with all of the praising the two of them had done, honestly. She'd just been doing her job and taking care of a friend. "You're welcome," she said, brushing some of her hair out of her face. "You definitely can. I'll get out of your way. I actually got off a little while ago, so I'm going to head home. Someone will be in with potions for him," she told Rosalind, giving her another quick hug before stepping over to Dominic. "Get some rest, mon cher. You had a tough day," she said, taking his hand and squeezing it gently. "I'll be back in the morning."

Dominic took a drink of the water that was by his bed, waiting for them to finish talking. Rosalind shook her head. "No, Simone. Scared of whatever muggle thing had done this. They'd be scared it would get them, too. You don't think like that," she said honestly. He felt bad that she'd stayed past her shift to be with him. She hadn't had to do that. She was kinder than she gave herself credit for. Rosie hugged Simone goodbye, wishing her a nice night. "Thank you. You get some rest, too. You did a lot of work," he said, squeezing her hand. "I'll see you then," he smiled.

Simone frowned a little bit, having not thought of it that way. "Oh. Maybe, I suppose. The thought didn't even cross my mind. I just had to help him," she admitted quietly. If this had happened back in France, back before she knew much about muggles, maybe it would have frightened her a bit. But this was Dominic. She'd just reacted. "You're welcome," she said. "I will," she smiled. She squeezed his hand again before stepping back and picking up her stack of charts. "Goodnight guys," she waved a bit before heading out.