The Gift She Gives Ch. 15

"Let him go, Samir." They heard Mr. Hughes say as they turned and started walking farther down the hall and away from the situation.

Vesper looked at Natasha with wide eyes, "I don't think your brother should have said that."

Natasha lifted the sides of her mouth in a very small grin, "If he kills my brother, then it solves the problem of my having to go to my mother's people."

~*~*~*~

The next few hours had proved difficult for Natasha. She had spent that time with her daughter, the two of them together in the meadow chasing butterflies and building a little wooden fort of sorts with some of the scrap lumber from the construction pile. Vesper had kept her distance, enjoying the sight of the mother and daughter spending their time together before they were separated, once again, by circumstances beyond their control. Elarinya had spent time among the wood elves in the past, and Vesper was pretty sure the little girl hadn't been treated well. Her response to her mother stating that she was going to Farwathain had been very negative, and she had clung to her mother. The child had only calmed when she they told her that she would be staying with Vesper.

As the two had played, Vesper had gotten an idea and had run it by the foreman for the construction crew. There was plenty of land, and she knew it wouldn't take long, so she asked them if they could build a child sized playhouse at some point, something that Elarinya would always know belonged to her. The man had enthusiastically agreed to the project and had drawn out a rough sketch of an idea that Vesper had quickly approved. They would have it done in three weeks, when the house was finished. Vesper couldn't believe that everything was so close to being done. She would have been overwhelmed with the excitement of it if she hadn't been so torn to pieces that Natasha was being forced to leave.

Vesper had stayed outside in the meadow on the blanket even after Faeron had come out to speak with Natasha and say goodbye. Her brother had put his arm around her as he led her into the spa. He hadn't been happy about her going, either, but he seemed to understand why she had chosen to do so. She had known that she would be helping Mr. Hughes do something for his friend, and it also kept her oldest brother from holding Alexandru's location over their heads for more information from them.

"Why so glum?" A deep voice sounded from beside her and Vesper shook herself out of her thoughts and looked up to see Samir standing beside her.

He sat down almost shoulder to shoulder with her and pulled a blade of grass from the ground and rolled it in his fingers.

"Did you hit him as hard as you wanted?" Vesper asked and watched a smile spread across his face.

"Harder."

"Mr. Hughes was not happy with you, I am sure."

"He told me that I had disobeyed his rules for the last time. He said I should leave for a while and decide whether or not I was actually capable of working here."

"He's making you leave?" Vesper gasped, looking at her friend. She didn't want both of her friends to leave at the same time! That didn't seem fair.

"Yes. But he's angry. Thorontur threatened not to give him the exact location of Alexandru. They worked it out, though. But Mr. Hughes is very unhappy with me."

"So you're leaving?" Vesper frowned as he put an arm around her shoulders.

"For a while, at least. He'll calm down. He said that he needs time to plan a rescue, and that if he felt like he needed my help, he would let me know."

"Is he going to tell Domino?"

"No," Samir frowned as he looked at her, "He's terrified to get her hopes up. They are good friends and he doesn't want to see her hurt again."

"He should tell her." Vesper frowned.

"He won't."

"Then you go to her, and you tell her."

Samir looked at her thoughtfully.

"He's already mad at you, who cares if he gets a little more mad. I would want to know. She should know." Vesper said softly, she knew the story of Domino and Alexandru, she thought it was extremely romantic.

"Maybe I'll go down that way. See how she's doing."

"You should. I know you were friends."

"I am always the friend." He sighed, but then looked again at her with a smile before standing up.

"Samir." She frowned, she knew he was lonely, but there was very little she could do to help him with that particular problem.

"Let's go inside and find Ela and go raid the kitchen. I think there's a peach cobbler in there that the cooks are trying to save for something." He reached down and grabbed her hands and pulled her easily to her feet.

"Race ya?" Vesper cocked her head to the side as she let her wings extend out behind her.

Samir smiled, "You gonna fly?"

Vesper grinned and lifted herself into the air. "Don't I always?"

~*~*~*~

When the vampire was brought to the spa, Vesper had wanted to go and see him, and meet his fiancé immediately. Mr. Hughes had been completely against it. She knew it was because they were still trying to work through what they wanted, what they could handle with each other, and he was afraid of the influence he felt that Domino would have over the situation. The fact that he cared what his friend thought about her was something that Vesper understood. The many weeks that Natasha had been gone had proven difficult for them. Vesper was taking sole care of Elarinya and seeing her with the girl had been hard for Mr. Hughes to handle. He loved her, he needed her, but he was terrified of all that he was taking from her. So he had been very nervous about her meeting the woman he had considered his best friend for a long time, scared that Domino might actually tell him to let Vesper go.

Vesper knew it was also because he didn't want her healing Alexandru. Despite the fact that her touch could help improve his condition, he wanted Vesper to have nothing to do with his recovery. The thought of what touching the vampire could do to her was too much for the fallen angel. He was certain that not only would her eyes turn red and she would grow fangs, but she would get an overwhelming desire to fuck again, and he just could not take that chance. So he had told her to stay away. He had promised that Alexandru would improve on his own with time, and that the large vampire would prefer it that way.

When Domino was at the spa, right after the starved vampire was taken inside, Vesper had watched the beautiful young woman from afar. Elarinya was almost always hiding behind her back, scared of these new, dark beings that had come to the spa. She had been introduced to Brunhild and the male vampire that worked there, but the two were only up at night, and Elarinya was usually asleep or at Vesper's home at that point. Samir had returned, though, and the little girl had been happy to have him back.

They were careful not to be spotted, and Vesper tried to follow the rules that Mr. Hughes set forth about where she could go while he had these new guests, though Domino had left quite quickly after arriving with her wounded fiancé. It was easier to not be seen now that her house was finished. She had moved in a week after Alexandru had arrived. The house was one level, with a large living area just inside the front door, and a dining room and kitchen off to the left. A hallway to the right led into the three bedrooms and a bathroom. The master bedroom also had a bathroom, and a large closet that was slowly filling with items that Vesper had purchased and had had Shi help her alter to work around her wings.

She had chosen a sky blue, daffodil yellow, and white color for her bedroom. It had made her feel like springtime and she had taken loving care in decorating it and the rest of her home. And it did feel like home. When Vesper had first entered the house after it was finished and her furniture had been moved into place, she had actually had to sit down and cry for a minute. Mr. Hughes had frowned and used Elarinya and Shi outside so that she could have a moment to herself. He had worried that she was unhappy about something, but she had assured him that she was the exact opposite. Vesper was happier than she'd ever been in her life at that very moment. She was in her own home. She was loved, she had friends. She was overflowing with happiness.

Mr. Hughes, of course, was there as much as he could be. Her bedroom held a king sized bed, but he was unable to sleep at her side. There was a couch against the wall against the hallway that he would sleep on instead, always facing her, and never complaining that he was uncomfortable. Elarinya had taken to sleeping in the guest room that was beside her larger room. Vesper had decorated it with the little girl in mind, of course, and had stuck to pastel greens, yellows and pinks. The little girl was truly starting to flourish, though it was evident that she missed her mother a great deal. They had started working through some school books and Elarinya was proving to be very adept. They spent time every day exploring the meadow and the woods, as well.

Vesper was starting to worry that everything that she and Mr. Hughes were doing to try to save their relationship was not going to work. She had gotten a taste of what her life could be like, and it only made her yearn for more. She wanted a husband, she wanted that closeness not just emotionally, but physically, and she hadn't been able to get that from him yet. She wanted someone who was content with just her, who didn't make it a part of his job to stimulate the sexual desires of others. She knew that was selfish, and was probably something that she could work through, but it bothered her anyway.

Vesper wanted children. Desperately. He couldn't give that to her, and she knew it was the one thing that might really be what ripped them apart for good. She had bonded closely with Elarinya and the child had made her ache for one of her own. Vesper had considered her age, she might look young, but would she even be able to have children at this point? She wasn't sure. But she knew that he couldn't. It's what kept her up at night, it was also the one subject that they had both been very careful not to tread into. Both were too scared of what it would mean for them.

The weeks turned into a month, and then Natasha had returned, no worse for wear. She was very quiet about her time with the elves, but she had come back hyper focused on the needs of her daughter, whom she had missed a great deal. They had been apart for such a long time in the past year that she had not welcomed the intrusion of Thorontur for that reason, specifically. The two were noticeably calmer in each other's presence, and Vesper had begun to feel a nagging bit of jealousy that once Natasha returned, Elarinya did not seek her out as much.

Natasha had seen it, too, and had been good about including her in some of their outings. When it snowed, the three of them had been joined by Samir, and eventually Mr. Hughes, in the building of a snowman and snow forts, and they had had quite the epic snow ball fight. It was all very idyllic and familial, and Vesper felt as if her womb was going to literally burn right out of her body with the need she felt to fill it. She knew that Mr. Hughes knew that, she had seen it on his face as they were playing outside, when she was laughing and swinging Elarinya around. She had seen the sad way that he had looked at her, and it had practically crushed her.

Alexandru left just before mid-December, and Vesper was happy that things seemed to get a little easier with him gone. There was no having to avoid places on the off chance that the vampire would be there, and she was able to go to the spa during the day to have lunch in the kitchen with the staff or Mr. Hughes.

Vesper took another trip into Toronto with Samir and came home with bags and bags of Christmas decorations and a huge Douglas Fur tree to set up in front of the bay window in her living room. She was down on the rug, sorting through a bundle of shimmery plastic fern leaves to add to the decorations that she had already placed on the tree when she heard her front door open and figured it might be Natasha and Elarinya back from a visit with Shi and her family. Without looking up, she ran a hand through her hair and spoke in an excited voice.

"I know I've gotten most everything up, but would you like to help put the last bits on?" She asked and then looked up into the doorway of the room with a wide smile on her face.

Mr. Hughes stood before her, dressed in a very fetching suit, his hair forever shaved and that stubble on his jaw that made him look sinister. His gray eyes were slightly stormy as he frowned and looked down at her, hands fisted at his sides as he took in the scene of her decorating for the holiday.

"I'm sure you'll forgive me if I don't feel very festive about this particular season, Vesper." He said darkly and stepped farther into the room.

"Well, you're not going to make me feel bad for wanting to celebrate my faith the way I see fit." She frowned, religion was something that they didn't see eye to eye on either, but she had only a smidgen of the understanding of what Mr. Hughes had been through, and he was still very unwilling to talk at length about it.

"I have nothing against Jesus. I just...can't." He muttered under his breath as he looked around at the room that she had decorated, his left eyebrow arched up a little when he saw the stockings hanging over the fireplace.

"I made one for you." She said softly as she saw the direction of his gaze, her hands were pulling Barnum off an ornament that the cat had decided was a chew toy. His brother was sitting under the tree looking up, seemingly mesmerized by the twinkling lights she had connected to it earlier.

"What exactly do you fill a cat's stocking with?" He asked, shaking his head as he looked back down at he.

"Oh, lots of things." Vesper stood up with a twinkle in her eye, "catnip mice and treats, those little hollow balls that Barnum likes to chase after, maybe some of your old socks for them to chew on."

He shook his head and sighed, Barnum had proven to be particularly destructive to his wardrobe.

"You spoil them."

"I do."

"I don't even think they care about any of the stuff you buy them. They still just want to climb in boxes and pretend they're ferocious man-eating beasts."

"They probably don't," Vesper concurred, looking at the two cats that she loved dearly, cats that he had given her to make her happy, "but I do it anyway."

"I'm just like them." He said, his voice sounding sad and she looked over at him confused.

"What do you mean?"

"You give me all sorts of things, your love, honesty, you obey me, you don't push too hard, you allow me to do things that I know upset you. I give you nothing in return. Yet you keep doing it."

"That's not true. You love me, Arc. I know you love me very much."

"But that's not what you need. You need more than I can give you."

She shook her head forcefully, "That's not true, Arc. I need you. I can't imagine not being with you. Nothing else matters." Did she believe that? He didn't.

"That's a lie."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, it would always come down to this and she wasn't sure how much more strength she had left to fight it. Opening her eyes, she let her violet gaze settle on his handsome face, that strong jaw and wide, firm mouth. His shoulders were tense and his body rigid as he stood there, knowing that an argument was brewing, wondering, just like she wondered, if it would be the argument, the one that pulled them apart.

"I think I'm ready."

"For what?"

"To touch you."

Mr. Hughes paled by several shades and took a step back. "Vesper, no. It could be a mistake."

"It's not a mistake. It's what I need."

"I don't want to hurt you."

"I am already hurting, Arc, can't you see? This, this whole thing hurts and I want it to end. I am going to touch you."

"No." Mr. Hughes shook his head and went to take another step away from her when she put her hand up and took control of his body.

"This is my choice, Arc. No matter what happens, this is my choice. I do not want you to feel guilty over this."

"Please, Vesper," Tears had filled his eyes as she slowly walked towards him, "Please, don't do this. I can't lose you. Please."

"That's what you don't understand. You're losing me anyway."

"Vesper, please. I love you."

"I love you to." Vesper licked her lower lip and took another step forward, this one brought her just up to that edge of pain that she had felt every time they were close.

As she held him in place, she thought about how to do this. Should she just move forward slowly, put her hand on his hand, or face, or neck? Would any of those places hurt more or less than any other? She was so busy deciding that she hadn't noticed the front door open and she hadn't seen Natasha walk in with Elarinya, Samir, and Zheng at her side. She was so busy deciding, that she didn't hear the gasp that came from her friend when she suddenly shrugged her shoulders, opened her arms towards Mr. Hughes, and used whatever the power was that was inside of her to take hold of his body and forcefully pull him into her arms, making the first place they connected, the first time her skin met his was in their first kiss.

And then everything went black.

*****

Author's Note:

I meant to put an elvish translation section at the end of the last chapter, I apologize. They are internet searchable, however.

Leithio nin! - release me

Daro! Ego! - stop, go

Gwanno ereb nin! - leave me alone

neth - sister

hanar - brother

noroth - giant

peredhil - half elf

Man cerig? - what are you doing

Nin gwerianneg! - you betrayed me

naith medion - blood eater ~vampire

gwaedh - oath