By JF Jackson
Part Thirteen
They returned to the cabin, no easy feat considering the only transportation they had was Remy's bike. However, as hurt as Rhiannon was, she could still ride on the back of the bike. Remy took it very slow. Stealth returned Remy's coat and shifted into wolf form. When Remy arrived at the cabin, Stealth was already inside, wearing a pair of leather pants, and a leather vest.
Remy walked in, carrying Rhiannon, who was trying to protest loudly to being held, but not doing a very good job because Remy just was not listening. When they walked in, Stealth looked up from the stove, where he was doing something and pointed to the couch. Remy nodded, and put her on the sofa.
"I'b not 'elbless," she snapped.
"No one is sayin' you are," Remy said, for what seemed like the millionth time. "But you are hurt. Is it a crime to take care of you?"
"Bup oo 'it oor 'ead!" she reminded him.
He winced. He did not need to be reminded of his slam into the concrete. His pounding brain was enough of a reminder. And trying to translate her busted nose speech was not helping the problem any. He sat down on the chair next to the sofa, closing his eyes for a moment.
When he opened them, Stealth was in front of him, holding a cup. He handed the cup to Remy, and motioned that he should drink what was inside. Remy took the cup and sniffed. Whatever was inside smelled vile. "I don' t'ink so."
"Dwink it or 'ell neber thut up," Rhiannon advised him.
"Oh, like he been talkin' so much," Remy said, rolling his eyes.
"'e can' talk, 'es mute." Rhiannon said.
Now it was Stealth's turn to roll his eyes. He silenced Rhiannon with a look, then turned his attention back to Remy, indicating again, he should drink the contents of the cup. Although he did not look threatening, Remy remembered his early treatment of the other vampires and decided it would be best to take his advice. Bracing himself, he drank down the contents of the cup. It tasted about as delicious as it smelled. "Yuck!"
Stealth turned his attentions to Rhiannon. Remy watched as he administered to her injuries, using what looked to him like herbal medicine. She did not seem any happier with this than Remy was to drink the drink but she allowed him to work on her. Remy felt as if he had a million questions he wanted to ask, but he decided to wait. Obviously, Stealth and Rhiannon had their own private way of communicating, probably mentally. However, Rhiannon translating for Stealth was not going to be easy. Remy could barely understand what she was saying with her nose and face all swollen.
Within three minutes of drinking the liquid, Remy's eyes began to feel very heavy. Within five, he could barely keep them open. When ten minutes had passed, he was sound asleep in the chair.
When he woke up he was in Rhiannon's bed. He sat up, slowly, testing how his head felt today. It felt fine. Better than that, he felt fantastic, refreshed, and energetic. He rubbed where his head had hit, but he could not feel any evidence, not even a bump. He looked up at the window, noting it was light outside. He looked over to Rhiannon's nightstand. The clock read 2:00. He was alone in the bed, but he could hear someone downstairs, moving around in the kitchen.
He rose from the bed, looking around Someone had undressed him. His clothes were neatly folded and lying on a chair near the bed. He got dressed and climbed down the ladder.
Rhiannon looked up from the stove for a moment. "Hello," she said her voice soft.
"'Ello, Chere," he said, looking at her. Her nose may have been slightly puffy and the skin under her eyes was slightly dark, but other than that, there was no evidence of last nights activities. "Whatever Stealth used last night works," he commented, walking into the kitchen.
"Vampires can heal very quickly," Rhiannon said, tucking a lock of hair over her ear. "I don't heal nearly as fast as a full-blood, but I do heal faster than ordinary mortals. How are you feeling?"
"Pretty good," he admitted. He reached into his pockets for his cigarettes. "Dat stuff Stealth gave me might 'ave smelled an' tasted terrible, but it worked."
"A lot of Stealth's stuff is like that," Rhiannon said. "Offensive to the senses, but powerful to the problem. Are you hungry?"
As if responding to the question, his stomach rumbled. "I guess I am," he said, sitting down at the kitchen table and lighting up a cigarette. "I could use some coffee too."
She got a cup of coffee from the pot on the stove and handed it to him. "I'm making soup, but if you'd rather, I could make you breakfast."
"I don' wan' to be any trouble."
"You aren't." Rhiannon said, walking to the refrigerator. "It's no bother. It's better to let soup simmer anyway."
He watched as she took out a carton of eggs and some other things. "Rhian, are you all right?" he asked. It seemed as if she was avoiding looking at him.
"I'm fine," she said, biting her lower lip.
"Non, I don' t'ink so," he said, rising from his chair and coming over to her. "I t'ink we need t'talk."
"I've noticed you love to talk," Rhiannon said. "Or, should I say, listen. It seems like every time we get together, I end up having to rip open another piece of my soul for you to look at."
"I'm sorry, Chere." He put his hands on her shoulders. "I don' mean to always keep pryin' but every time I t'ink I know what's goin' on, somet'in else comes along t'blow dat t'eory wide open."
She put the carton of eggs on the counter, turned around, and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him fiercely. He barely had time to register what she was doing, and return the hug when she drew away and turned her attention back to the eggs. "Scrambled?"
"I suppose," he said, brows furrowing. "Rhian, breakfast can wait till after we talk."
"No!" She started cracking eggs furiously, dumping the contents in a mixing bowl. "I know what you're going to say."
"You do?" He was impressed. He was not even sure what he was going to say, but apparently she already knew.
"Yes," One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine eggs lost their shells and slid into the bowl. She refused to look at him, leaning over the bowl, her hair falling over, covering her face. "You're going to say, 'it's over,'" she whispered. "You're going to say that last night was too much. First I practically raped you backstage, and then I almost got you killed. What we have might be a lot of fun, a good time for both of us, but you have enough problems just being a mutant, you don't need to add the undead to your enemy list. You're going to say it's over. And I understand, Remy, I really do, but can't it wait?"
She whirled around, looking at him, her eyes bright. "Can't it just wait until after breakfast? Can't I have a couple hours to pretend everything is alright, to fool myself that when you walk out the door, it will just be for awhile and not forever. I know it's stupid, and I know I don't deserve it, but can't you humor me?"
There was about four feet between them. He crossed those four feet in one long step and wrapped his arms around her. "Rhiannon, I wasn' gonna say dat at all!"
She returned his embrace, her fingers digging into his upper arms. "No one could blame you, Remy!"
"Yeah, jus' like no one could blame any normal who broke up wit' a mutant," Remy said softly. "Chere, I can' judge you jus' because others are against you. Me, of all people can' do dat."
"This is different," she said, tears streaming down her face. "This is something you're not even supposed to know about. Vampires we-they have their own rules, their own ways. They want me dead, Remy. When it's realized what you did, how you were able to...evaporate two of them, they aren't going to be too fond of you."
"Rhiannon," he reached down and took her chin in his hand, lifting it so she was looking into his eyes. "Dat's got not'in t'do wit' you an' I."
"I've put your life in danger," she insisted.
"So? I've been puttin' my own life in danger as long as I can remember," he said, smiling, hoping she would do the same. "Seems like all my life I been makin' as many enemies as I 'ave, friends. So de vampires don' like me. Apparently, last night I proved I wasn' a pushover."
"The two you killed were young-bloods," Rhiannon said. "Vamps that probably haven't even lived a mortal lifetime. They might have been vampires for seven, eight years at most. They aren't very strong and they're vulnerable. If you butt heads with an older one, you won't find them so easy. And some of the real old ones would be nothing but annoyed at your little explosions."
"So? I've been in tight situations before," he said, trying to pass this off. In truth, it did worry him a bit that he had managed to make a new group of enemies. Especially since Rhiannon was implying their numbers might be more than Remy thought. "Half de enemies of de X-Men could kick my ass, but we always manage to get around dat. I can handle this. But I do admit I'm worried about you."
"I've got Stealth," she reminded him. "I'm under his protection."
"Yeah, an I 'ave de feeling dat's a pretty good t'ing," he said with a faint trace of a grin.
"He's pretty powerful for such a dumb jerk," Rhiannon said, smiling through her own tears. "He-he kinda adopted me. Taught me about vampires helped me figure out who I was and what I could do. He's not my sire, technically, but he considers me his childe, since he won't make one of his own."
The love she had for her mentor shone through the words. Remy frowned. "Do you love him, Rhiannon?"
She nodded. "Very much. " Then her eyes widened and she shook her head. "Oh, not in that way. I mean, I think he's kinda cute and he thinks I'm good looking, but it just wouldn't be right for us to... uh sleep together. It just would feel wrong."
"I'm glad to 'ear dat," he said.
"You, though, are another matter," she said, her faint smile spreading into a grin.
"What dat' supposed to mean?" he asked, puzzled.
"Stealth thinks you're cute."
"Wha?!"
She giggled. "Stealth is bisexual. Oh, don't worry, he knows you're straight. He's pretty good at figuring those things out by observation. But he's told me if you weren't, he'd be trying to seduce you."
"Oh, dat makes me feel real safe around de guy," Remy said, not knowing how he should be reacting to this one.
"Don't worry, Stealth doesn't go where he's not invited, trust me on that one," she assured him. "Actually, I don't think he's had a real relationship for a long time. A lot of one-night stands with unsuspecting mortals who woke up a pint lighter, but nothing serious. He's not going to start trying to feel your ass if that's what you're worried about. But it's in his nature to admire the scenery."
Remy shook his head. "Well, I guess I can deal wit' dat."
"Besides, he's gotten used to the idea of you and me, so he's looking at you as he looks at me. Some dumb kid he's gotta be around to bail out if needed."
"Dat fills me with confidence," Remy said dryly.
"Remy, he's almost three hundred years old, you can't expect him to look at us the same way as everyone else."
"You've got a point dere." He led her away from the kitchen and over to the sofa, sitting down next to her. They both turned so they were facing each other. "So he generally keeps de other vamps from killing you?"
She nodded. "Most of them don't even bother with me, because they know I'm under his protection. But every once in awhile, some get brave and try to get me anyway. Like last night."
"Dat's what I worry about," he said. "I know Stealth is good protection, probably better protection dan I am, but after last night, I'm worried about you."
"I'll be okay," she said, trying to reassure him. "I've managed to stay alive this long."
"I know dat, but " He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. It was scary, but he realized he did not want to lose her. He wanted to do whatever he could to protect her. How did dis 'appen so fast? he wondered. It seemed like one minute I was just curious about 'er and de next it was getting farther dan I expected. "Your life is risky. I can' be wit' you all of de time, but I-I'd like to know if I wasn' wit' you, an' you needed me, I'd know, dat if I could, I could get dere to 'elp you. Jus' in case Stealth couldn'."
Her brows furrowed and looked at him, puzzled. "Remy, what you're suggesting is impossible, unless we were to-" Her words cut off abruptly as what he was implying sunk in. "No, Remy, you can't be talking about "
He nodded. "Tell me more about dis' bonding."
End of Part Thirteen