Nature or Nurture Ch. 20

Victor notices his friends are not looking well, and he decides they will have to go home immediately.

'Can you make it to the carriage, Adison and Vincent?' he asks.

Vincent answers, 'I feel like I have been trampled by a bull, but I'm in no danger. Please check out Adison, Victor, she looks positively grey.'

Victor lends Adison his arm, she seems ready to faint and takes it gratefully.

'What is wrong with you, love?' Vincent asks her worriedly.

Adison looks bad, with a black eye and a bruise on her cheek, getting darker by the minute.

'I'm having trouble focussing, and I feel nauseous. Head hurts.'

'You're concussed Adison, you need rest, but no deep sleep,' Victor concludes, and looking at Vincent, 'You cannot watch her, you need sleep more than anything. Neither of you is in any shape to do anything for Miss Yves anymore, I'm bringing you home.

If this hasn't worked, there will have to be another time.'

So they leave Miss Yves in the care of Sembene and Sir Malcolm, and get a ride home in the coach. Victor and Mina help their friends into their bed, where Victor cleans Vincent's wounds carefully, checking if the stitches have held. They have, but the wounds too small to stitch have opened up again, and the whole left side of his body is bruised.

Victor bandages Vincent back up, and puts him to bed to sleep the rest of the night. Mina helps Adison out of her clothes, and when Victor is done with Vincent they examine her to rule out internal damage and they check the seriousness of her head trauma.

To be on the safe side, Mina decides to stay with her and watch her through the night.

'Victor, will you stay here with Vincent? I have to take Adison to my room, I cannot risk daylight here.'

And with that, she lifts the smaller girl easily and takes her to her own bed.

Once there, she installs her in her bed, then fetches a book and a candle. When she returns, Adison is still awake, so Mina sits beside her and strokes her hair softly.

'Can't sleep? Do you miss your man next to you? You can lie close to me, I'm not all muscle, but a woman's softness can be comforting too.'

This makes Adison smile.

'Actually, I have a raging headache, can I have a painkiller? Or would that be dangerous?'

Mina returns the smile.

'I'd say that as long as it doesn't make you sleep unnaturally deeply, you can take one. But you're the doctor here. Do you want me to ask Victor? He's probably still awake.'

Adison whispers, 'Yes, please. I don't quite trust my own judgement.'

Mina quietly leaves the bed and walks the few doors to Adison's bedroom. There she moves to the side where Victor is trying to fall asleep after his exciting night. She nuzzles him and asks in a low voice, 'Adison wants to know if she can take a painkiller. And if so, where do I find it?'

He sits up and says, 'I'll show you, I cannot sleep anyway.'

She takes some time to kiss him, then they go into the study to fetch the painkiller. Victor shows her the different kinds, giving her one that only relieves pain, not one that induces sleep. As Mina fetches a glass of water and takes the painkiller to Adison, Victor checks on Vincent's temperature and breathing, then crawls into bed again. Still astounded with what happened in the evening with Mina, he falls asleep.

Adison is still awake when Mina comes back, and she is glad to take the painkiller. Mina settles back on the bed next to her, as Adison asks her, 'Do you love him?'

Mildly, Mina replies.

'Shouldn't you go to sleep?You have concussion'.

'I can't sleep yet, head still hurts too much.'

Without hesitation Mina states, 'Yes Adison, I'm very much in love with your friend Victor. I think I have a bad case of love at first sight.

As a young girl I hoped to fall desperately in love with the man of my dreams, but I never met him. I was engaged to marry a handsome man once, and I finally married another, but I did not fall in love with either of them until I had known them for some time.

And when I got turned I didn't care anymore, the world was my plaything and men were just food or amusement. The last thing I would have expected was to become more or less human again and then fall head over heels in love with the first man I met. My girlhood dream finally came true.' Adison reflects, 'I must have been a very strange girl, for I never dreamed of men at all. All I wanted was to learn as much as I could and then become a doctor.'

Here, Mina observes, 'And still you found true love...'

Adison seems surprised by this remark.

'I suppose we did. I never saw it that way. We were not looking for that kind of love, it just happened. You might say true love found us.'

On impulse she adds, 'Vincent proposed to me last night. He asked me to become Mrs Vincent Heathcliff. I think he really meant it. About the name I mean, I'm sure he wants me to marry him.' 'And what did you say?' Mina asks, 'to either question?'

Adison laughs.

'I said yes to both. I love him no matter who he was, or what name he carries. I think it is right to honour his former self, even though apparently he was quite misguided in that life. Some of that was not his own fault.

We both realize Vincent might have turned out a lot worse, he has the same passionate, almost wild nature.'

'That is hard to believe seeing him now. But he looks happy, complete. Not as if you'd pulled his teeth or quenched his fire. I hope Victor and I will have the chance to be as happy as you are. No chance of children for us though.'

Adison confesses, 'I don't think we can have any, either. I suppose after his resurrection, Vincent may very well be sterile. I didn't risk it yet though, with things as they were I preferred to use certain herbs.'

Mina gives her a hug.

'Thanks for the girl talk, I've missed that. If your head feels better, you should get some sleep. I'll watch over you, you'll be fine. I'll check on your intended too.'

And the last thought Adison has, before she falls into a dreamless sleep: so that was girl talk.

The next morning, maybe even early afternoon, Victor wakes face to face with Vincent. After the first astonishment, he remembers the night before, and takes a good look at him from his doctor's point of view.

His friend looks peaceful, no signs of a restless night, and his colour is normal for him. No visual signs of fever or pain. He doesn't want to touch the other man to feel his temperature, that might wake him up from his sleep, the thing he needs most of all. So he slowly and carefully moves away from Vincent, ready to get dressed and check on Mina and Adison.

But his slight movement triggers a reaction.

A strong arm reaches out to him, and pulls him close. Since Vincent is probably still half asleep, and used to sleeping with someone, Victor guesses he is looking for some physical contact with his girl. This is quite embarrassing, he cannot struggle, but he can hardly let Vincent believe he is Adison. Who knows what might happen!

Meanwhile, Vincent has snuggled up really close to him, taking in his scent, nuzzling his skin. And still, Victor doesn't know what to do. He doesn't want to wake him up, but there is no way he is getting out of this grip without using force, or being released.

Vincent clearly doesn't appreciate his restlessness, he murmurs sleepily, 'What's the matter Victor, can't a guy have a little cuddle with you anymore now you've a girl of your own?'

Stunned, Victor indeed lies still, Vincent knew it was him all the time!

'That's better,' the voice says, arm still holding him firmly to his chest, mouth and nose still exploring his throat and neck. 'Hmm, you smell very nice, very masculine, I'd like a bite of you myself.'

Victor knows he can't escape that arm, and trying would hurt Vincent's chest again, so he gives up and decides to enjoy the attentions instead. Turning around, he faces his friend and sometimes lover again.

'I did offer her my bared throat last night, and she accepted. It was the best dinner I even attended, even if I was the main course.'

Vincent takes the offered bait, he definitely is still sleepy.

'Only the main course, not the only one? Did you get something to eat then?'

'Oh yes, I got something for starters and a lovely dessert too, ' he says knowingly.

Finally Vincent's awake.

'You naughty doctor, you! She's hardly escaped the clutches of an evil mastermind, and she falls into the hands of a mad scientist!'

Victor sighs. 'I'm afraid I've fallen as hard as she has, dear friend.'

In answer, Vincent gives him a hearty kiss and releases him.

'I'd better let you go check on her then, and on my poor girl too. I congratulate you, you've an excellent taste in women. And I bet you taste excellently yourself.'

Victor laughs.

'She did mention that, yes.'

'Go check on our ladies, I'll follow shortly.'

And Victor leaves, but not without instructing, 'You stay here, I'll be back with doctor's stuff. I'm taking care of those wounds today, Adison is on forced leave.'

And seeing the sense in that, Vincent turns around and tries to get some more sleep.

In Mina's room, Adison still sleeps in Mina's bed. Victor checks her vitals, and she seems fine, though she looks as if she has been in a bar brawl, black and blue all-over.

Mina is in her comatose state on the pallet. Watching her for a while, Victor gets that sense of belonging again. He knows it will not wake her, so he allows himself to stroke her hair, and caress her face. It will be a long wait until sundown, but at least everything is out in the open, he will not have to hide his feelings any longer.

The thought of his love being returned still amazes his. Such a beautiful woman, in love with him. Quietly he leaves the room for now, gets his bag, clean bandages and a basin of hot water, and heads to Vincent and Adison's room. When he comes in, he finds Vincent asleep once again.

He doesn't feel like sleeping anymore, so he piles coal into the boiler to get a hot bath ready for his friends, and steps out to do some shopping. Rich food for himself, he feels hungry all the time and his usual food just doesn't seem to satisfy him. And some things for Mina, everything a girl needs plus a really nice dressy evening-gown. She'll probably want to go out now her cover is blown anyway, and he wants to show her he has a good eye for fashion. He decides to go for deep blue for now, she'll have to get measured for a really beautiful dress, but that will take some arranging. This will have to do for now.

When he returns he puts Mina's things in her room, for her to find when she wakes up. Adison is no longer in Mina's bed.

Leaving the food in the kitchen, he checks on the boiler and feeds it some more coal. Then he puts a kettle on the kitchen fire and returns to Vincent's room, where he finds Adison in her usual spot. She's awake, but enjoying being lazy.

'How do you feel?' he asks her.

She replies in a whisper.

'Not quite well, but much better than yesterday. That was quite a thrashing I got. How's Vincent, has he been awake at all?'

Victor smiles at her and says, 'I'd say he was awake! He pulled me in towards him, and I felt embarrassed because I thought he thought I was you. Turns out he knew it was me all the time, he was having me on. We cuddled some, then had some real man's talk.'

This makes Adison smile even more. If Vincent can make jokes that must be a good sign.

'I had my first ever girl's talk yesterday with Mina. You think that is a coincidence?'

Victor snorts.

'Since I've met you guys, I don't believe in coincidences anymore. Though if you look at it objectively, most of the weird goings on have been more or less my doing. Anyway, I kind of liked it, man's talk.'

'I liked the girl's variety too,' says Adison,' they'll be making real humans out of us yet, and that with them being the 'unnaturals'. Do you want children?'

Victor thinks about that question for a few moments.

'I never did, but just as I can imagine having them, I'll have to accept I never will.'

Adison nods.

'Same here, somehow I don't think we'll be able to have any, but it was never an issue before.'

They are silent for a while, then Vincent stirs and Victor leaves to get some hot water for cleaning the wounds. He orders Adison to stay in bed and take it slow the entire day, so she moves over until she's in Vincent's arms.

That wakes him a little, and he really enjoys having her near. Suddenly he wakes a lot more. 'Dearest, are you okay?' he asks.

She looks at him and tells him honestly, 'I've been better, but I could have been worse.'

Her face is black and blue, and the sight of it touches him deeply. She got this from wanting to help someone at all cost, how far will she go? She really needs him to protect her, from herself first of all!

'Can you lie on top of me?' he asks.

Her answer is very clear.

'I can and I want to, but I won't. Doctor's orders. You'll never heal unless you take care of yourself a little better.'

'Then at least lie as close to me as you are allowed to by the doctor. Cuddle me a bit, please? I had to restrain Victor this morning to get a little love out of him. You'll give yours freely, won't you?' She teases him, straddling him and unbuttoning the old shirt he wears to keep the bandages in place. 'I will, but first, the doctor will take care of your wounds. I am not allowed to do any work today due to my injuries.'

And right at that moment Victor comes in with a new basin of hot water. With a look, he sends Adison back into bed. Then he removes the bandages and sets to work under her watchful eye.

Adison is impressed by Victor's work. He has learned cleaning wounds thoroughly but carefully so well, that Vincent doesn't show discomfort even once.

'It is very clear you don't object to getting damaged physically,' observes Victor, 'you've added a nice set of bruises to the claw wounds. How do you feel?'

'Honestly?' Vincent says, 'I still feel like a bull trampled me, only now I'm fully awake so it hurts a lot more. As long as I lie still there is no problem, and the wounds are much better, even the small ones. But I'm stiffer than a board. That scrawny woman has some strength in her.'

Victor looks at Vincent seriously and asks, 'Will you be able to play tonight?'

'If I weren't so stiff, no problem, but as it is I'd move like one of the corpses you like to spend your days with.'

Victor finishes with the bandages, and states to the two lovers, 'You can kiss to heart's content, but no hanky panky! I'm firing up the boiler for a good hot bath. It'll do both of you good. Food will be on the table in half an hour.'

And with that, he leaves the room.