The Road to Recovery (Madison)

[Florian Raniari]

Sastre's brow furrowed as he continued to work the reiki.

After several minutes of treating her ribs, the hunter gently pulled his hands out from under her shirt, shifting a bit and carefully laying his right palm against her bruised and gashed cheek. Taking a deep breath to focus himself, Sastre began channeling his healing energies again, trembling a bit as he felt the power being pulled from him.

Another few minutes passed, and he finally pulled his hand away, opening his eyes and smiling wearily at her. Reaching out, he brushed a few strands of hair out of her face, glad to see that her bruises had already begun to fade. Wiping sweat from his brow, Sastre moved to lie down beside her, running his fingers gently through her hair.

"How do you feel?"

[madison]

Her ribs and face felt better by the time Sastre had finished. Her nerves were settling, the adrenaline had faded and the shakes were mostly gone. Madison was still looking at Sastre and she saw the weariness there. A small seed of guilt planted itself in her belly as he laid down next to her.

Madison eased herself closer, resting her uninjured cheek on his shoulder and draping her arm across his chest. "Better. Thank you." She said in response to his question. She let out a soft breath enjoying the feel as he ran his fingers through her hair. "Are you all right? You seem...tired from doing that." Tilting her head she kissed his neck, still trying to move closer to him, as though the closer she got the safer she was.

She kissed his neck lightly again, breathing in his scent, just enjoying the nearness of him. The warmth of his body and the comfort it brought her, but she was still slightly worried, not knowing exactly how reiki worked and what price Sastre had just paid to heal her even that little bit.

[Florian Raniari]

Sastre was tired, but he knew it would pass.

"I'll be fine. It's a little exhausting, that's all," he assured her, wrapping his arms around her and softly rubbing her shoulder. "I think you were hurt more than you let on, or than you thought. Your body just kept... kept pulling on the healing energy I was giving you." He chuckled lightly, kissing her forehead. "I guess it was like watering a plant that hadn't been watered in a long, long time. Once the water is suddenly there, the soil just takes and takes until it's had it's fill. Bad analogy, but something like that anyway."

Reaching over, he pulled a blanket over them, feeling a bit chilled. It had been a long time since he'd depleted himself like that, but it was necessary, and he didn't regret a thing. He'd be tired and weak as a kitten for a couple of hours, and after that he'd be back to normal. And it wasn't as if this was the worst he'd been after an intensive reiki session, so he wasn't really that concerned.

Besides, Madison was here with him, and feeling better. That made the slight discomfort he was feeling now completely worth it.

[madison]

Madison frowned when Sastre said she'd been more hurt than she realized. She didn't like the fact that her body was literally sucking healing energy out of him. It sort of made her feel guilty. She needed to take better care of herself. Start remembering to eat and give herself more energy, sleep more, and most definitely stay away from Steven, despite the consequences of doing so.

It could have been so much worse had Sastre not come home when he did. Steven was livid and he very easily could have killed her whether he meant to or not. Sometimes she wondered if his sole purpose in life was to control her. She couldn't understand why, or what she had done to make him treat her that way. Madison had done everything he'd ever asked of her.

Closing her eyes, Madison pushed the thoughts away. Steven was gone and at least for now it was over. She opened her mouth to apologize to Sastre, but knew he'd just tell her that she didn't need to.

Instead she shifted so she was propped on her elbow, leaning above him. She gazed into his eyes for a long moment, her fingers gently stroking his cheek. "I love you." Leaning in she kissed him, deeply but softly, heart racing as she moved closer to him, suddenly needing his touch.

[Florian Raniari]

Sastre pulled her close, carefully.

Wrapping his arms around Madison, the hunter returned the kiss, still shocked by how right being with her felt. Her lips, the warmth of her body pressed against him, the smell of her hair, all these things and more just served to remind him that, not so long ago, he'd almost completely forgotten what it felt like to be happy, and human. Now, though, he'd been given a second chance, and every day that he spent with her helped bring him a little bit closer to finally having that normal life he'd wanted for so long.

"I love you too," he murmured against her lips, finally breaking the kiss. "All I ever want is for you to be happy, Madison. I don't ever want to hurt you... I don't ever want to lose you." Kissing her forehead, he continued to hold her close, pulling the blanket up over her as well and sighing in contentment.

Now, for the moment anyway, he could try and forget about hunting, about Darian, about all of the things out there that were trying to kill him... Now, he could just enjoy the time he had with Madison, and think longingly about the life that they'd--hopefully--be able to share together...

[madison]

At his words Madison could only smile. For those reasons alone she knew Sastre would never hurt her and he would do his best to protect her. Madison knew first hand though that you couldn't protect someone from everything. She kissed him again gently, still raised above him, her fingers moving over his cheek. "You'll never hurt me, not intentionally. I know that. I also know that you never have to worry about losing me. No matter what comes our way, we'll face it together."

She leaned down and snuggled into him, burying her face into his neck, placing gentle, reassuring kisses against his neck. She breathed in the scent of him, felt the warmth radiating off of him, and was just comfortable, complacent, and happy be nearing him. "I'm here, as long as you want me to be. No matter what happens."

Her body relaxed against his, half laying on him, hoping she wasn't hurting him. Madison had never felt this way. Like everything was just so perfectly right. With Sastre it always seemed to be. She loved him so much and she was scared of losing him or of waking up and realizing it had all been a dream. It made her scared to sleep sometimes. "Just please don't go." She hadn't meant to say that. To sound so desperate and needy, but it was out there now, and Madison breathed a sigh against his neck, closing her eyes, waiting for the reply that would no doubt come.

[Florian Raniari]

Sastre smiled sadly, running his fingers through her hair.

"Madison, listen: I'm happy here, with you. Happier than I've been in a long, long time. That's the truth, okay?" He leaned forward a bit to kiss her forehead, lowering his voice as he went on. "But I can't see the future, and I don't know what might happen down the road. All I can tell you is that I do not want to leave, and I have no intention of doing it... Trust me, okay?"

Rolling over gently onto his side, Sastre pulled Madison in closer, holding her tightly, but not tightly enough to bother her injuries. Burying his face in her hair, he sighed contentedly, still amazed at how good it felt just to be near her, to have her in his arms and know that she loved him.

"I don't ever want to leave you, Madison... Not ever. Don't you believe me?"

[madison]

Sastre's words loosened the constriction in her chest. He didn't want to leave. It as so hard for her to believe sometimes. Sastre was strong and he did more for people than Madison could ever dream of doing. He had done more for her than she ever imagined. Maybe she was being selfish, but she didn't want to lose him.

Madison loved him more than she had loved anyone. She thought she'd been in love with Steven, and maybe for a time she was, but it was nothing compared to what she felt for Sastre. She had lost so much, and so had he. She didn't want either of them to lose this. Madison didn't know what that meant for the long run, but she knew she'd stand by his side no matter what.

Tilting her face she lightly brushed her lips over his. "I believe you." She did. Sastre had never lied to her. Had never done anything to hurt her. She heard the truth in his words and she believed it with all it heart. Leaning in she kissed him deeper, running a hand around the back of his neck, massaging gently. "I love you."

[Florian Raniari]

Madison's hands were beginning to lull Sastre into an exhausted sleep.

He closed his eyes and sighed in contentment, loving the feeling of having her so close, and knowing that she was his. The truth was, he'd loved her for a long time, and though he never would have imagined that anything would come of it, he was content to just stay with her, lending her whatever support he could as her friend. After spending all of these months with her, Sastre knew that he would never be able to go back to his old way of living, and that he'd have stayed with her regardless of whatever happened, or didn't happen, between them.

A part of him, in the back of his mind, screamed out against the fact that he was slowly drifting off to sleep. It warned that any number of dangers could befall Madison and him if he did so, and that it was far too risky, and that he needed to stay awake to protect her. He knew this was just his old habits trying to come to the fore again, and he pointedly ignored these thoughts. Sastre knew that if anything busted in to try and murder them, he'd up and out of the bed in less time than it took to blink an eye. He was within easy reach of any of a dozen weapons that he and Lily had strategically hidden around the house.

He could handle whatever might come their way...

So, feeling happy and at peace--a pair of feelings that still seemed new and unusual to him--Sastre let himself drift off into a fitful sleep, taking every bit of comfort he could from having Madison in his arms.

[madison]

I can hear the devil call my name
Hopeless, I’m falling down
Filthy, I can’t wake up
I cannot hold on, I will not let go
Worthless, it’s over now
Guilty, there’s no way out


As Madison lay in Sastre's embrace the rest of the world seemingly melted away, until it was just the two of them. Her body relaxed and her mind eased with the reassurance that he didn't want to leave. Of course there was a chance he would have too, but that was the key factor. Had too. She believed he would never leave other wise and that was a bigger comfort than Sastre knew.

She nestled closer to him, her hands still lightly massaging the back of his necks as she felt sleeping tugging at her. A small smile spread on her lips as she began humming a soft tune, both for Sastre and herself. Trying to put the horrible memories behind her, Madison closed her eyes and breathed in Sastre's scent letting the warmth flowing off of him, lull her into sleep.

((Thread Fin))