Involuntary Convalescence (Brennan / "PG-13")

[Sastre Quicksilver]

Shivers coursed through her at Brennan's touch.

Lily closed her eyes, sighing as Brennan's fingers and lips trailed up her arm to her neck. Yelping, she thought she was going to die right then and there when Brennan's lips lingered, causing her body to spasm nearly off the couch. Wow. Okay. Maybe Brennan knew what she was doing after all...

At first, Lily had thought that all of Brennan's caresses and light kisses were due to the fact that she was nervous, and not entirely sure what to do. Lily wouldn't have blamed her. After all, she didn't have any experience with this sort of thing either. Making out with another girl at a bar to attract the attention of the guys was one thing, but this?

Not so much the same.

Truthfully, Lily had never felt this worked up before. She didn't know if it was because she hadn't been laid in so long, or something having to do with the medicine, but she found it a bit disconcerting that she was suddenly a lesbian now. Apparently. Lily was no virgin, she'd logged a lot of hours in the sack, but she'd never experienced anything close to this.

And when Brennan stopped, her lips hovering so tantalizingly close, Lily had to bite back a whimper. She barely even heard the other woman's words, with the blood pounding so loudly in her ears, but she thought she caught the gist of it, and she nodded.

Slipping one arm around Brennan's neck, she pulled herself closer and kissed her roughly before pulling away to say softly, "Yeah... but not here..." Her eyes flicked to the stairway, which led upstairs to the room she'd been given by Madison.

[Abigail Faraday-Brennan]

Dear Lord, this woman was going to drive her insane.

Brennan groaned as Lily drew her in and their lips finally met, eagerly matching the hunter’s urgency with her own. Her pulse raced with anticipation, and her hands dropped to Lily’s hips, pulling her closer. She held back another groan as the hunter pulled away, but she paused long enough to let her words register. The girl had a point. Damn. Pulling herself back with difficulty, she glanced to where Lily indicated, nodding.

“Alright,” she panted, letting her weight fall forward onto her hands as she tried to get her breathing under control.

After a moment, she pushed herself up, straightening and offering Lily a hand up. The hunter eyed her hand, and Brennan mentally braced herself for a scathing remark. To her surprise, though, Lily’s expression turned mischievous, and the hunter trailed her fingers lightly down the inside of Brennan’s arm before grasping her hand and hauling herself to her feet. The witch’s breath caught, and she grinned back.

“Any more of that, and we're not going to make it as far as the bed,” she warned, not releasing Lily’s hand as she drew her up the stairs.

Brennan shoved through the door to Lily's borrowed bedroom without ceremony, drawing the hunter down onto the spacious bed with her. Barely giving her a chance to settle, Brennan gently pushed her down and straddled her legs, running her thumbs over her stomach and the inside of her hips with gentle but firm pressure. Carefully sliding her hands under Lily’s hipbones, she pressed her lips against her belly, slowly advancing as far as the edge of the bandages. Leaning forward, she slid her hands up to brace her weight and continued her attentions at the sharp line of the hunter’s collar bone. She paused there a moment, then moved once more to linger over the pulse point in her neck, continuing from where they had left off downstairs.

Oh, yes, she decided - this woman was definitely going to be the end of her.

[Sastre Quicksilver]

Lily was completely lost in the sensations that coursed through her.

She closed her eyes, smiling slightly as Brennan straddled her, and gasping at the sparks that seemed to fly as the witch's hands and lips pressed firmly against her. Her back arched, and she had to whimper and bite her lip to keep from crying out. As Brennan continued to do things that were new and interesting to Lily, the young hunter realized just how out of her element she was.

Embarrassment flooded her when she thought about how she'd been sooooooooo clever, orchestrating all this. Yeah, right... It was obvious to her now that Brennan was no stranger to this sort of thing, though she should have realized it much earlier. Seriously, it should not have been so easy to seduce another woman, right? But Brennan had quickly become assertive, and taken charge, and Lily was okay with that, as she really wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. She tried to think about what would have happened if the gorgeous witch hadn't been so well-versed, and decided that the whole night would have ended in a train wreck.

So, even though she was thoroughly enjoying herself, deep down Lily was worried that, when the time came, she wouldn't have anything to offer in return. It didn't seem fair that Brennan should have to to do all the work, but Lily just didn't know what to do, or what was expected of her.

Before Lily really knew what was happening, her clothes began to come off almost of their own volition. And, as Brennan's lips and fingers began working their magic upon her flesh in dizzying new ways, Lily could do nothing but give herself up to the moment, crying out Brennan's name and pushing her worries aside for the time being...

[Abigail Faraday-Brennan]

She really had to hand it to the girl. Lily was one hell of a quick study.

Brennan lay sprawled next to the hunter, exhausted and content, one arm thrown companionably around Lily’s midsection. But while her body lay in a pleasant torpor, her mind continued to run, still reeling at the speed with which things had progressed. She would certainly never have guessed that Lily had any interest in her that way. Or in any girl in general, for that matter. The hunter had seemed happy enough with Russ, though theirs was an unlikely pairing. In all honesty, she really couldn’t imagine why Lily had gotten together with him in the first place. Actually, now that she thought about it…

As she lay there, the endorphins slowly fading from her system, a hint of doubt began to set in. Had Lily just used her? Was she merely a means to an end?

What was it Lily had said earlier? That Russ had had his chance. That he wasn’t who she wanted right now. But what about later? The witch paused a moment, considering. Did it matter what happened later? She had rather enjoyed herself, after all. Brennan sighed in frustration, disgusted with herself for letting her hormones get the better of her. This was so incredibly unlike her. She was not one to sleep around, especially with someone who was already involved, and the idea that Lily had simply been using her to get to Russ hurt more than she would have expected.

Frowning in concern, Lily encircled sleepily in her arms, Brennan was left to wonder what the hell she had just gotten herself into.

[Sastre Quicksilver]

Lily rolled over on her side, her back to Brennan.

She'd never felt this torn before. On the one hand, physically she felt amazing. Being with Brennan had been the most intense experience of her life, and that was saying something. Lily had been with a lot of guys, a shameful amount really, but she'd never felt so satisfied afterward.

Mentally, though, Lily was in a state of turmoil. She felt embarrassed, and afraid, and absolutely foolish that she'd instigated this whole thing in the first place. It was true that she'd enjoyed herself far more than she'd expected, but she'd had nothing to offer Brennan in return. She'd been clumsy and inexperienced, and had fumbled her way through most of the night. She felt awful that Brennan had had to suffer through her attempts at pleasing her.

Lily closed her eyes, sighing and trying to force her mind to relax. It felt good, just lying there in Brennan's arms, so good that she never wanted to leave. But she knew that she had to. Brennan had no reason to want to keep her around, not that Lily could blame her. God, she'd made a mess of things last night...

Sighing again and turning her head into the pillow, Lily said softly, "I'm sorry, Brennan. I uh... I know I wasn't very good at... at this." Rolling back over again to face the witch, Lily allowed herself a sad smile. "But hey... It's nothing a little practice couldn't fix, right?"

She was only half-joking, though she didn't expect Brennan to take her up on the offer. What the witch had thought about last night Lily could only guess, but part of her hoped that Brennan would give her another chance. She wasn't sure what it was, but there was something about being with her that Lily found relaxing and calming. There was no reason to put on her usual tough-girl front for Brennan, no reason to try and hide behind a facade of indifference. Brennan made her feel good, and that was something that Lily wasn't at all used to.

Sighing again, she closed her eyes and bowed her head, half-fearing the words from Brennan that were sure to come.

[Abigail Faraday-Brennan]

Brennan tensed involuntarily as Lily began her apology, expecting the worst. This was it, then. Lily was going to admit that she had made a mistake, probably suggest that they pretend the whole thing had never happened.

Brennan still couldn’t quite believe Lily had done this to her, after everything they had been through. It was true that Brennan had only known the hunter for a few weeks, but in that short span, it felt like they had lived a lifetime together. Before tonight, she would even have said that she and Lily had grown quite close. Actually, now that she thought about it, Brennan was surprised to discover that she had developed a genuine affection for the young woman. She admired Lily’s spark and her willingness to stand up for what she felt was right. True, that same trait got her into trouble as often as not, but that tended to happen in their line of work.

Brennan sighed unhappily, wishing she had never gotten them into this mess. In all fairness, after a week and a half of strict house arrest and Brennan’s unintentional provocation, could she blame Lily for what had happened? At least she had the decency to apologize. Making up her mind, Brennan decided that there was nothing for it. What had happened had happened, and she was perfectly capable of handling things like an adult and moving on. It was silly to expect that anything could ever come of this, and had she been thinking clearly in the first place…

It was then that the rest of Lily’s words registered.

Brennan simply stared at her for a moment, taken aback by Lily’s implications. Finally, she regained enough composure to speak.

“Wait, let me get this straight...” she began incredulously, drawing back and propping herself up on one elbow, catching Lily’s eye. “You want to do this again? This wasn’t just some… I mean, I thought maybe…” Brennan fell silent and looked away, suddenly unsure of her words.

To her surprise, she found herself second guessing all of her earlier assumptions. She wanted to ask what Lily’s intentions were, but she didn’t want to hurt her feelings by admitting what she had thought her original motivations to be. Was it possible that the hunter actually did want this to go somewhere? Biting her lip, she glanced uncertainly at Lily, considering how best to continue.

“I thought maybe you’d regret this, afterward,” she admitted softly after a long moment. “I would understand if…if you didn’t want this to go anywhere. You wouldn't be hurting my feelings.”

She flashed a quick smile at the hunter, bravado masking the emotions that churned below the surface as she waited for Lily's reply.

[Sastre Quicksilver]

Lily actually laughed a bit, she was so relieved.

She'd been laying there worrying that Brennan wouldn't want anything to do with her after this, and apparently the poor witch had been assuming the same thing. She felt giddy, which surprised her, as she'd never really experienced such a thing before. The thought crossed her mind that maybe she'd been wrong all this time... Was it possible that the reason she'd never really connected with a guy before was because she'd always been a lesbian, and just never known it? The thought scared her a bit, but still it didn't lessen the elation she was feeling.

Sighing in relief, Lily moved closer, snuggling up against Brennan and shuddering at the feeling of their bodies pressed together. All she really knew was that she'd never felt like this before, and that both excited her and worried her. Seriously, she'd only spent one night with Brennan, and apparently she was already infatuated with her. After years of dumping one guy after another after another, it seemed like Lily had finally met her match in the young witch.

She sighed once again, closing her eyes and nuzzling Brennan's neck. At the moment, she really didn't care what was going on, so long as Brennan didn't have any obvious intentions to get up and run. Lily really didn't know how long this would last, but she wanted to savor every minute of it.

"I didn't think you'd want me," she murmured against Brennan's neck, feeling unbelievably at ease in her arms. "I mean..." She shrugged, not really knowing how to say what she was feeling. "You know, after the way I sort of stumbled through everything..." She suddenly felt a bit uneasy again, and she squirmed in discomfort. "Sorry," she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

Certain that she'd just inadvertently ruined the mood, Lily fell silent, sighing and taking as much comfort as she could from Brennan's presence.

[Abigail Faraday-Brennan]

Brennan chuckled, pulling Lily closer and wrapping her arms around her.

The witch smiled in relief at Lily’s acceptance and finally let herself relax completely. It felt as though a great weight had fallen away from her mind, leaving her free to enjoy the moment in peace. She couldn’t believe how right this felt, snuggled against Lily as if she’d always belonged there. And to know that the young woman wanted her too…

The hunter could put on such an untouchable front that Brennan would never have expected Lily to share her feelings. They were just too much alike, always on the road, unwilling or unable to stay in one place for very long. That kind of life tended to discourage any sort of significant relationship with anyone. But that didn't mean it wasn't possible... Brennan still didn’t have any idea where this was going, if it was going anywhere at all, but suddenly she couldn’t wait to find out.

“Why wouldn’t I want you?” she finally replied, leaning down to kiss the top of Lily’s head. “You’re smart, you're capable. And you’re certainly one of the strongest people I know."

Brennan fell silent a moment, content to let her fingers play soothingly through Lily's hair as she thought about the hunter’s last words.

It was true that Lily had been a little hesitant and clumsy, but at the time, Brennan had attributed most of that to the young woman's extensive injuries. She had tried to be as careful as she could, but she knew that Lily had been in a great deal of pain over the last several days, whether she showed it or not. It hadn’t occurred to the witch that Lily might not have been with a woman before, especially after the way she had come on to Brennan in the first place. She found it endearing that the hunter was so self-conscious, seeing as she acted so confident in everything else she did. The girl was certainly an enigma, that was for sure.

Smiling softly to herself, Brennan gave Lily a gentle squeeze.

"And you don’t have anything to apologize for,” she assured her quietly. “I believe I started it, whether I meant to or not. And, like you said…"

She let her hand drop to Lily's back, running her fingers absently up and down her spine.

“It’s nothing a little practice won’t fix.”

Tilting her head, she smiled warmly down at the hunter, letting her know that everything was okay.

[Sastre Quicksilver]

Lily shuddered as Brennan's fingers trailed down her back.

Closing her eyes, she nuzzled closer to Brennan, gasping and shuddering some more as the witch's fingers played absently in the small of her back. Again Lily was struck by the slightly uncomfortable feeling that she was apparently a lesbian now, but that worry couldn't compete with how right this felt. And that, really, was the only word she could think of to describe it.

Being with Brennan just felt right.

Slowly, Lily began kissing Brennan's neck, letting her teeth graze her skin a time or two and hissing in pleasure as the witch's fingers continued play along her back. Shifting a bit, Lily was ready to move her kissing to Brennan's shoulder when an all-too-familiar sensation caused her to cry out and tense up.

Hot pain shot through her ribs, and she bit down on her lower lip hard enough to draw blood to keep from yelling. Clenching her eyes tightly shut, Lily had to fight the urge to curl up into a ball, knowing that it would only make things worse. Instead, she just lay there next to Brennan, her body trembling with pain and her arms wrapped tightly around her ribs.

"Okay," she got out between gasping breaths, ignoring the taste of the blood from her lip. "At least... we know the du... du... duration of the swamp... gunk now, huh?" She tried to chuckle, but it just came out as a sort of strangled sound. "Guess this gives... us an excuse to... do it all over again... though, right? You know... you slather me with the crap... and we end up in bed together?" She laughed again, successfully this time, though it caused her to bite back a yelp of pain.

"Ugh... I think you broke me..."

[Abigail Faraday-Brennan]

Brennan groaned as Lily’s mouth played over her neck, a shiver running through her in anticipation.

She wasn’t terribly worried about Lily’s admitted lack of experience when it came to women; what she lacked in finesse, she more than made up for in pure chemistry. Brennan couldn’t get enough of her touch, and the rest would come with time. Lord knew she hadn’t always been this skillful either. It had taken a great deal of trial and error on her part, over the years, and she certainly wouldn’t hold something like that against the hunter. After all, sex was nice, but it wasn’t everything.

Brennan let her head fall back, and had completely lost herself in Lily’s attentions when she felt the hunter stiffen beside her. Pushing herself up on one elbow, Brennan watched, horrified as the hunter cried out and doubled over in pain. Cursing, the witch grabbed a pair of pillows and carefully eased Lily onto her back, propping her up as comfortably as possible. She couldn’t believe how stupid she’d been, giving in to Lily’s advances when she was in such bad shape. Madison was going to kill her!

Barely pausing long enough to throw her clothes on, Brennan raced downstairs and skidded around the corner into the living room. She glanced around guiltily for Sastre or Madison and, not seeing them, quickly gathered an assortment of medical supplies and headed back upstairs. Crossing to Lily, she perched on the bed and pulled out a pair of scissors, neatly cutting through the bandages rather than taking the time to unwind them all.

“Jesus, I’m sorry, Lily,” she apologized, twisting the top off the salve and slathering her fingers with the strong-smelling cream.

Brennan gently laid her hands on the hunter’s ribs and carefully began rubbing in the concoction, praying it worked as well and as quickly as before. She had known this was a bad idea from the start, but she’d gone ahead and done it anyway, and now Lily was paying for it. And what if she’d accidentally hurt the hunter worse than before? Not only would Madison and Sastre murder her, but it would mean Lily would be on bed rest for who knew how much longer? Brennan bit her lip guiltily, mentally berating herself for her selfishness and stupidity.

After a moment, the witch finally sat back, wiping her hands clean and looking anxiously at Lily, praying she hadn’t damaged her further.