Courage (35 page)

Aerigo pursed his lips and thought a moment. “As much as I just want to keep you safely away from Nexus, my gut says I still need your help. Two full-powered Aigis stand a much better chance against the will of a god. And who’s to say other gods won’t join the fray to protect Nexus and try to kill me?” He pulled her into a one-armed hug and took her nerveless hand in his. Roxie wished she could feel his touch, but just knowing he was holding her hand sent pleasurable shivers up and down her spine. “Rox, I’m in desperate need of your help.”

Hearing those words caused exultant relief to relax her nerves. “You bet I will.” She badly wanted to kiss him on the lips for saying that. She suddenly felt fully accepted and needed, and that she could make a positive difference in the course of all this madness she’d been swept up into. All those things were waking her romantic side and drawing her to Aerigo on an emotional and psychological level. She willed her dead hand to move so she could hold his hand in return, instead of having her fingers curled without clasping anything.

Roxie’s stomach growled, killing the heartfelt moment. She sighed and drooped her shoulders, then froze, hoping her reaction didn’t drop too heavy a hint at the emotions that were trying to burst out. As much as she wanted a romance to blossom between them, Aerigo needed help stopping Nexus and his war more than he needed her complicating their friendship. Sure, he’d kissed her twice in the space of five minutes, but it wasn’t like he’d asked her out, or the likes. And it was only on the top of her head.

Aerigo slipped off the gurney and brought the cart of food over to the side. Roxie scooted to the head of the bed so he could sit on her right while she fed herself left-handed. Aerigo gave her a thoughtful glance, then nodded to himself. Roxie reached for her forkful of cake, but Aerigo beat her to it. She raised an eyebrow at him. He cupped his free hand under the laden utensil as he brought it to her mouth.

“Thank you for saving my life,” he said in a deep, soft voice.

Was he really doing what her eyes were seeing? Roxie opened her mouth and accepted the bite of cake as the tips of Aerigo’s fingers brushed her chin. He slowly pulled the fork out from between her lips and watched her eat. The cake tasted great. Perfectly moist, not too sweet or bland, and just the right amount of frosting, but she didn’t pay much attention to its taste. She returned Aerigo’s blue-eyed gaze, analyzing the gesture he’d just made as her heart raced. Did weddings on other worlds have the cake-feeding tradition, or was she just overanalyzing the moment? His gaze made it so obvious how much he cared about her, how much he felt for her. Part of her wished Aerigo would push aside the cart and start kissing her in earnest.

Roxie took the fork from Aerigo’s hand and scooped up another forkful of cake. “And thank you for saving mine. Repeatedly.” He accepted the forkful, and Roxie slowly retracted the fork just like he had, paying great attention to how it felt to free the fork from his pinched lips, and how returning his gaze was making her go lightheaded. She held the fork between them, at a loss for what to do next.

Aerigo took a step closer, then stopped and glanced at Roxie’s dead arm, his flutter-inducing gaze wilting a fraction. He stepped around the cart, almost reluctantly, and, grabbing a fork from under the food tier, sat next to her in a way so their thighs were touching. He removed the second lid and steam billowed into the air as he slid the lid onto the second tier with a hollow metallic scraping sound. He slipped an arm around her waist and held his fork poised over the food, but didn’t start eating.

Roxie gave him a questioning look.

He nodded to the food. “You first.”

“Okay. Would mind putting my arm around your waist?” Asking that question got her heart pounding. She was basically spelling it out for him how much she wanted to be as close as possible to him. Why was it still scaring her to let it show how it felt, even when she seriously doubted he’d reject the idea?

Aerigo wrapped Roxie’s dead arm around his waist, and pressed her hand to his hip. Her hand fell the moment he let go, cupping his right glute instead, and gave it the briefest of glances before letting it be.

The lack of movement and feeling in her right arm and hand was beginning to drive her nuts. All this new intimate contact and her experiences were handicapped. Roxie pecked the cake and took a bite, then mentally scolded herself for getting frustrated. They were alive, together, very close, and feeling at peace. They had some great food to be enjoyed as well.

On top of all that, he had kissed her. She hoped he would again soon.

Aerigo followed her eating pattern, taking a bite of cake for every bite she took. It was the best cake she’d ever had. That was no exaggeration. She was sharing it with Aerigo.

By a third of the way through the cake, Roxie decided it would be wise to move on to real food containing ample nutritional value. She started on some strips of orange meat, which turned out to be some delicious, baked bean flavored meat with a chicken texture. They used their forks together to tear off bite-sized pieces, but neither of them tried to feed the other again. Roxie was sorely tempted to, but the cake exchange felt like one of those one-time special moments. Once the beanie chicken was gone, they moved onto what turned out to be spiral leaves with thick, four-cheese sauce, the leaves tasting like broccoli. That delectable bit of creamy cheesy goodness disappeared faster than the “chicken.” They turned back to the meat section and continued eating at a leisurely pace, enjoying everything they consumed.

“Hey, Aerigo.”

“Mm?”

“How do you think you got into my nightmare?”

He paused with his fork hovering over the cream-colored meat that tasted like seasoned pork tenderloin medallions. “I believe it was--I’m not sure if you’ve heard of it--but I think it was spirit or astral travel. I just had a very short trip to your consciousness, guided by your distress call.”

The sight of seeing Aerigo sit up in her nightmare replayed in her mind. “I’ve heard of astral travel. I just thought it was a bunch of hoo-ha nonsense new-agey type people fervently believed was real, and that anyone could do it.”

“It’s very real.”

“You’ve shown me that a lot of stuff is very real.” She ate another piece of pork medallion and so did Aerigo. “I really like all the neat things and people you’ve introduced me to.” He gave her waist a slight squeeze. Roxie rested her cheek on the meat of his shoulder and reached for another medallion. The angle was too awkward. “Okay, I can’t eat that way.” She sat upright again and they both resumed eating in peace.

Aerigo broke away from matching every bite Roxie took and stabbed at what looked like a spherical steamed dumpling Roxie had been gearing up the courage to try. What looked like grape juice spurted out over the rim of the tray and onto the floor. They exchanged shocked glances, then Roxie reached for the dumpling, assuming that maybe Aerigo had stabbed it too slow. She speared it, sending an even bigger spray of purple juice onto the floor.

“What did you do that for?” His tone was chiding.

“I didn’t think that would happen.” She honestly hadn’t.

He raised an eyebrow, a bemused smile crossing his lips.

“Have you ever had a moment where someone tells you something and you know they’re telling the truth, but you don’t believe them? So you see for yourself?”

Aerigo thought for a moment, then broke into a guilty grin. He set his fork on the tray and slid off the gurney.

Roxie slid off the gurney as well. “Let me clean it up. I made the bigger mess.”

“I got it.” He lifted the lid and grabbed a dish towel.

Roxie spied a second towel and snatched it out with her superhuman speed before Aerigo could put the lid back down. “I’m helping,” she said in the most authoritative tone she could muster. He brooked no argument as they both kneeled and began wiping up the rainbow of splattered gravy-smelling purple juice.

Her right arm was bent at an awkward angle against the floor so the top of her forearm was pressed against the tiles. She grabbed her arm and twisted it so her right hand was flat on the floor, palm down.

Aerigo wiped up the mess with broad, sweeping passes, leaving little for Roxie to clean up. He was overdoing the whole chivalry thing. “Oh, stop that.” She flicked her towel, catching him in the arm with a loud snap.

“Ow!” He looked at his arm, which had a faint red mark. “What was that for?”

Roxie winced at the sound of the snap, but at least the red mark was tiny. “You’re not letting me help.”

“I just want you to rest and eat.”

“Well thank you.” She popped a wicked grin and caught Aerigo in the knee with another flick of her towel. “But I’m not a lazy wimp, you know.”

Aerigo let out another yelp. He started smiling, but his face read, “I’m so going to get you for that.” He flicked his own towel, cracking her on the forearm.

“Ow!” Roxie broke out into a full grin and rushed to her feet. She aimed another shot at his shoulder, but snapped only air. He got to his own feet. Roxie pressed the attack with her towel and began pursing him around the room. Aerigo backed out of each attack as he used the chair he’d slept in for cover, and Roxie pushed aside the curtains, giving herself more maneuvering room. Aerigo caught her in the shoulder blade, getting another yelp out of her. “Hey, no fair! I’ve only got one arm and I’m a righty to begin with.”

Aerigo switched hands and tucked his right arm behind his back. “I’m ambidextrous, by the way.”

She gave him a flat glare. “No fair.” She lunged in with a fresh wave of attacks, which got her smiling again. Aerigo played more defensively, but got in the occasional good shot every time she left an opening. Each blow stung, but she laughed every time she got him, and he laughed every time he got her. Roxie tried to keep tally of who was scoring more hits on who, but stopped when she realized she was losing. Aerigo was better at guessing where she’d attack next than she could anticipate his moves. Soon, their cries of pain turned into unified laughter, and they laughed even more at all the red marks they were inflicting upon each other.

It was a bizarre twist of humor, getting kicks out of each other’s pain, but what was most enjoyable was seeing Aerigo wearing a full smile between bouts of intense concentration, and hearing him laugh. They were such little things, but they were immeasurably enjoyable and heartwarming.

Aerigo narrowly dodged a shot at his arm, then flicked his towel so it wrapped a few times around Roxie’s arm. He circled behind her, wrapped one arm around her chest and his other arm over her hips, pressing his body into her. He breathed on her neck and pressed his scruffy cheek to her temple.

A man’s voice exclaimed something in a language that sounded like a mix of French and German. Roxie lost her smile at the sight of four people staring at her and Aerigo from the doorway. Aerigo straightened up and moved his arms to her waist and shoulders but didn’t let go.

There stood two male doctors and a female one, and someone who looked like a really tall Elf, also a doctor by the matching lab coat he wore. He had to be taller than Aerigo. The older man with black hair spoke again in his foreign--well more like native--language.

“Use English,” Aerigo said.

“Ah, English it is,” the doctor said, then addressed Roxie. “It is quite the pleasant surprise to see you conscious and well. My name is Dr. Donai Vernindelli. This is my nurse, Skitt Helfen.” The man in his twenties, with short bristly brown hair and pale eyes waved. “And Jenna Sedies, my Sensor.” She waved and nodded. She had tawny hair tied into a bun, a petite build, and an amicable face. “And that’s Arryk Langen, a cardiologist.” The Elf’s ears, hair and fair complexion made him looked like he belonged in a Tolkien novel. “You nearly died for good shortly after you got here. Aerigo admitted you into our care just in time.” He and the other three filed into the room.

“Died for good?”

“The dragon venom sent you into cardiac arrest. May I trouble you to hop back onto the gurney so I can examine you?”

Roxie nodded. “I died?” Aerigo tensed.

“It was touch-and-go for a good five minutes, but once the antivenin kicked in, you came back with little resistance. You’re quite resilient.”

Roxie placed a reassuring hand on Aerigo’s arm, then headed for her gurney. He held on to her without impeding her movements, and didn’t fully let go until she’d walked out of his arms’ reach. She suddenly felt cold without Aerigo’s body heat enveloping her, but she made herself hop onto the gurney and sat with her legs dangling over the edge. Aerigo positioned himself by the head as Dr. Vernidelli and the female doctor stood before her, and the other two gathered at the foot of the gurney. It felt a bit intimidating suddenly having so much attention, especially right after being in Aerigo’s arms. Her brain had to catch up with her euphoria.

“Are you unable to move your right arm?” Dr. Vernidelli said, holding his chin in one hand.

Her arm was awkwardly resting against the edge of the gurney. She picked her arm up by the wrist and set it in her lap. “I can’t move it or feel anything from the shoulder down. Aerigo says the dragon venom destroyed all my nerves, but you guys can help fix that.”

“He’s right on both accounts, however I’m concerned about using general anesthesia on you.”

“It won’t work,” Aerigo said. “Our systems will burn through it. She’ll wake up on you, and then it’ll become a struggle between keeping her asleep or sending her into a coma.”