Involuntary Convalescence (Brennan / "PG-13")

[Sastre Quicksilver]

Lily leaned heavily on Madison as she moved slowly down the stairs.

Eventually the pair reached the living room, and she paused for a moment as her eyes settled on Brennan. The witch looked troubled, and Lily wondered if she was regretting what had happened between them. Probably. Sighing, she put on an indifferent facade and let Madison help her into an easy chair, where she was finally able to catch her breath.

She'd known it was too good to be true. Cursing herself, Lily suddenly felt very lonely, and very foolish. What had she expected to come of this, anyway? And what the hell was wrong with her that she'd gotten so attached so quickly? Now things would be awkward and uncomfortable, and Lily honestly considered simply packing up her things and leaving. Only the thought of Darian kept her from doing just that. Once the vampire was taken care of, she'd be on her way.

It would be best for everyone that way...

A heavy, awkward silence fell over the room, just as she'd known it would. Closing her eyes, Lily sighed inwardly and struggled to maintain her composure. For a moment she'd actually let herself believe that she'd found someone who would actually care for her, despite everything. But she knew, now, that that was a hopeless dream. A long time ago she'd been told that no one would ever want her, not really... She'd never felt so certain that that was true...

Clenching her eyes shut tightly against the tears that threatened to spill out, Lily wanted nothing more than to just drag herself back upstairs, crawl into bed, and hide from all of this, at least until tomorrow.

[Abigail Faraday-Brennan]

Brennan could have wept in relief when Sastre finally released her from his calculating gaze and slipped wordlessly out of the house.

Her shoulders slumped, and her breathing eased considerably as the sounds of Lily’s jeep faded away into the night. She wished she knew how the old hunter managed to make his scrutiny seem like a palpable weight pressing down on someone when he wanted to. It had taken all of her control not to break under the strain. At least he hadn’t seemed angry. He’d been surprisingly quiet, which might have seemed like a good thing, but Brennan would have preferred his anger hands down. At least then she’d have had some idea of where she stood and had something to respond to. With silence, there was nothing. She was just left with her guilt and discomfort, imagining what Sastre was thinking and how he would react when the truth finally came to light.

The witch was so lost in her thoughts that it took several moments for her to realize that Lily and Madison had entered the room. Blinking to bring herself back into the present, Brennan lifted her gaze and glanced quickly between the two, only now becoming aware of the tension that still permeated the room. Shifting uncomfortably Brennan surreptitiously eyed the young doctor, wondering if Lily had told her and she’d reacted badly. That would certainly explain the awkward silence. But no, if Lily had said something to her, Madison would definitely have made some comment on the subject. Even if she didn’t have anything negative to say, she’d at least be offering some sort of input or advice. Well, it wasn’t that, then.

Glancing back to Lily, Brennan stiffened in alarm at the young hunter’s obvious discomfort. Jeez, no wonder she was upset – Brennan had left her by herself, injured, with no way to get around or get help. Stupid, stupid witch. Where was her head tonight? Stricken with guilt, Brennan debated silently for several moments, then said to hell with it and edged hesitantly off the couch, crossing to perch on the arm of the recliner. Forgetting Madison completely in her concern, Brennan reached out and hesitantly laid her hand against Lily’s back, beginning to rub in gentle, soothing circles.

“Sorry,” she murmured, glancing away in shame. “I, uh, shouldn’t have left you alone up there. I wasn’t thinking.”

Her eyes flicked to Lily’s face again, and she frowned at the obvious pain written across her features.

“Are you okay? Do you want me to get you anything?”

[Sastre Quicksilver]

Lily opened one eye when she heard Brennan get up.

She watched cautiously as the witch approached her, unsure of what exactly was going on. When Brennan settled down on the arm of the chair and laid her hand gently on Lily's back, the young hunter stiffened for a moment in shock. Blinking once or twice, she swiped at her eyes and relaxed a bit, glancing quickly at Madison.

"I'm going to head upstairs for a shower," the doctor said, a knowing smirk on her lips. She got up and headed for the stairs, pausing and looking back over her shoulder at the girls. "And please just take it easy?" Shooting them both a quick smile again, Madison vanished upstairs, leaving the girls alone.

Letting out a long, slow sigh, Lily closed her eyes and let the sensation of Brennan's hands bring her down from her earlier bout of panic. She shivered a bit, still shocked by how good it felt to have Brennan's hands on her, even when both of them were fully clothed apparently. Leaning back into the witch's attentions, Lily finally spoke, her voice soft and uncertain.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for," Lily told her, shrugging slightly so as not to aggravate her wounds. "I mean... its not like you were obligated to stay or anything, right? I woulda been alright, eventually."

She wasn't sure that was true, really, but there was no point in making Brennan feel any worse. If Madison hadn't shown up when she did, Lily knew for a fact that she'd still be laying up there, alone, and unable to even move. As much as she'd enjoyed her little escapade with Brennan, Lily was also smart enough to know that it had been a mistake, for the exertion may not have caused any serious damage, but it had definitely left her in a near crippled state afterward.

"I'm fine, Brennan," she told the other young woman, ignoring another pang in her ribs. "You don't need to get me anything... But you could keep doing that, if you don't mind... It feels nice."

[Abigail Faraday-Brennan]

Brennan smiled softly and gently shifted to slide in behind Lily, working carefully on the tense muscles in her back and shoulders, careful to avoid the injured areas.

As she worked, Brennan let a tendril of magic flow out of her, easing the hunter’s pain as much as she was able. Lily had been doing very well earlier, but it was obvious by her stiff posture and the fact that she was accepting help and sitting still without a fuss that she was in a lot more pain than she let on. Whether she admitted it or not, Brennan never should have left her by herself after everything that’d happened. Fidgeting a little at the slight phantom pain that arced through her own ribs in response to taking on Lily’s, Brennan gradually settled on a happy medium and paused long enough to lean forward to kiss Lily’s shoulder.

“I would’ve stayed, you know,” she murmured quietly, slipping her arms lightly around the hunter and letting her head rest alongside Lily’s for a few moments. “I wanted to. I only left because I heard them come home, and I was pretty sure there were still some incriminating items of clothing on the living room floor. I didn’t want them to find out like that.”

Smiling a little, Brennan pulled back and started her hands moving once more, this time working on the back of Lily’s neck.

“Although it looks like Madison already has us pretty much figured out, huh?”

Trailing off, Brennan continued to work in silence for several minutes, her expression troubled. Finally, after a long while, she spoke again.

“I haven’t told him yet,” she confessed quietly, the movement of her hands slow and methodical as she tried to find the right words. “I tried to, but… but I just couldn’t figure out how. He can be so… I dunno. So daunting, sometimes, I guess. I don’t even know where to start.”

Shaking her head, Brennan trailed off again with a rueful chuckle.

“This whole situation is just so surreal…”

Once again, Brennan was struck by how fast she had fallen for the young hunter, trying to fight down the brief flash of panic that twisted inside her chest. There was nothing to be gained by worrying about it. Things would happen as they would happen, and stressing over it would only make things more tense and uncomfortable. If Sastre reacted badly, or if Lily eventually realized she’d made a mistake, Brennan would deal with it when the time came. For now, all that mattered was the beautiful, intelligent, caring woman in front of her, and she’d be a fool not to enjoy the time spent with her. They could face the rest together.

Sighing, Brennan gently gathered Lily into her lap and traced her fingers up and down her spine, letting her chin rest on the top of her head.

“Anyway,” she murmured, closing her eyes and surrendering herself to the wave of warm contentment that washed through her, “I only left because I had to. I’m all yours for the rest of the night.”

[Sastre Quicksilver]

Lily shivered.

There was just something about Brennan’s touch that was so different from anything else that she’d ever experienced before. When the witch slid in behind her and began rubbing the tension from her back in earnest, Lily let out a long, shuddering sigh, practically melting under Brennan’s skilled hands. She nodded absently at Brennan’s words, hearing but only half understanding them at the moment. Her mind was too far gone at that point to really make sense out of anything. By the time Brennan slipped her arms around her, Lily was simply too stunned by how good this felt to say or do anything.

Truthfully, this was all new to her. She’d never really… cuddled with anyone before, or been held in someone’s arms like this. Her previous “relationships” hadn’t really included anything like this before. Usually it was just hunting, sex, and nothing else, but to have someone holding her just for its own sake? It was completely alien to her.

“You think Madison knows?” Lily asked, pulling back a bit and looking over her shoulder at Brennan. “I mean… she did ask some questions about why I was naked, and what we did while they were gone and stuff…” Relaxing back against Brennan again, Lily shrugged slightly. “I don’t care, ya know. If she knows, I mean. I meant what I said earlier. I mean… unless you wanna keep it a secret…”

Chuckling a bit at Brennan’s words about Sastre, Lily nodded agreement. The old man was pretty intimidating at times, and Lily would be lying if she said she wasn’t worried about what he’d think of this situation. As concerned as she was about Sastre’s possible disapproval, though, Lily knew that no matter how he reacted, there was no way she was going to let his feelings interfere with this. She respected Sastre, both as a man and as a hunter, but it was still too soon for her to really think of him as a father. She’d been making her own decisions for far too long to let his thoughts or opinions sway her.

When Brennan moved to pull Lily into her lap, the young woman was momentarily caught off guard. This was another new experience for her, and when Brennan encircled her with her arms and rested her chin on Lily’s head, she couldn’t help the shiver of excitement that coursed through her body. Snuggling in, Lily buried her face against Brennan’s neck.

“You don’t have to babysit me all night if you don’t want to,” Lily murmured against her, chuckling a bit. “I mean… Madison’s home now, so you’re off the hook, right?”

[Abigail Faraday-Brennan]

Brennan chuckled at Lily’s words, resting her head alongside the hunter’s.

“I think this stopped being about babysitting a long time ago,” she said, reaching up to twine her fingers through Lily’s hair. “Either that, or your babysitting experience was a lot different than mine was.”

Brennan relaxed and fell silent for awhile, content to hold the young woman in silence. She hadn’t been sure how the hunter would react to her affection, but so far she had taken to it without any fuss. In fact, at the moment, Brennan would’ve been willing to bet that she was actually enjoying herself.

A few hours ago, Brennan would’ve taken the hunter’s earlier words as a not so subtle hint that she’d had enough of her company; but now, with Lily curled comfortably in her arms, for all the world like she’d always belonged there, Brennan knew better. Smiling in contentment still laced with a touch or surprise and disbelief, Brennan sighed and relaxed against her unlikely partner, wondering just how much Madison had been able to piece together about what had happened.

“Knowing Madison, she probably has a pretty good idea what we were up to,” Brennan mused with a wince. “Or thinks she does. Which in this case means she’d be right.”

Brennan shrugged slightly, not wanting to disturb Lily.

“Doesn’t matter. I have no reason to keep it secret, and if you weren’t planning on hiding it, I’m sure we would’ve told her in the next day or two, anyway. Guess she saved us the trouble.”

Falling silent again, Brennan slowly traced her fingers up and down Lily’s arms, her thoughts far away. Finally, she sighed and came back to herself, frowning.

“I screwed things up with Sastre pretty good, huh?” she murmured quietly, fingers still moving absently along her skin.

“I meant what I said earlier. I’m not ashamed of what happened, and I’m fine with everyone knowing. He just… pinned me with that look of his, and I froze. I think he must’ve thought it had something to do with a hunt. Slipped out a little while ago, and I haven’t seen him since.”

Brennan paused a moment, taking comfort in Lily’s reassuring weight against her, and made up her mind.

“I’ll tell him when he gets back.”

Feeling a little better for at least having made the decision, Brennan relaxed, letting her head rest on Lily’s shoulder, smiling as a thought occurred to her.

“So, does this mean I’m still gonna have to worry about you trying to sneak out on me, or have I convinced you that being bed ridden doesn’t have to be such a bad thing?”

[Florian Raniari]

Sastre leaned in the archway from the kitchen, watching them silently.

He'd only been there for a few short moments, but he'd seen--and heard--enough to have pieced together exactly what was going on. He couldn't believe it at first. Sure, he'd always known that Brennan was just as interested in women as she was in men, and sure, he'd only known Lily for a few weeks and was admittedly in the dark when it came to a lot of things about her, but he couldn't help but be shocked by this turn of events.

The two had nothing in common it seemed, other than hunting. And, as far as Sastre knew, Lily had only ever showed interest in men. In fact, in just the short time that Sastre had known her, Lily had already gone through at least one guy, maybe two. Maybe more. Hell, he didn't know. So to walk in and see her and Brennan together, well... It had been something of a shock.

Not that he wasn't happy, though. He was no close-minded bigot, and he wouldn't dream of ever trying to tell his daughter what to do with her life. He'd given that privilege away a long time ago, when he'd sent her away as a baby to live with her adopted parents, for her own safety. Besides, she was stubborn, proud, and would no doubt never even dream of letting him control her in anyway.

Just like her mother, Sastre thought with a sad smile.

Clearing his throat loudly, Sastre stepped into the room, raising a brow at the pair as he walked past, toward the stairs. Letting his lips quirk into a slight, knowing smile, the old hunter winked at the two girls reassuringly before trudging up the stairs. It was late, and he was tired. He was an old man after all, and keeping these ridiculous hours was going to be the death of him.