Started and Finished: May 22, 2003
Last Episode Seen Before Writing: Exodus
Pairing: Whitney/Lana
Rating: PG
Category: Romance, Angst
Spoilers: Only for the role-play game
Summary: She protected him more than she ever knew.
Disclaimer: I do not own them. Okay, Whitney's dead, and I brought him back to life, so I *do* own him. But not Lana!
Author's Note: Again, especially for 'Ria. Here you go, sweetie! Enjoy the Whitana fluffy pink ponies! And a warning, if you aren't following our RPG, it won't make a lot of sense to you, but I wanted to post it anyway!
Her Protection
He put his hand to her cheek, "Do me a favor? Can we lay down? Will you let me hold you?" he asked, looking at her and giving her a soft smile.
"Yes but that's not a favor, and you never have to ask," she answered softly.
And he knew he didn't. He never did. But like he said last year when he asked her to the formal, he isn't going to take anything for granted anymore. He knew how lucky he was to have her. So incredibly lucky. After losing his father, himself, then almost her, he wasn't going to take one single minute with her for granted.
Whitney climbed into the hospital bed, grateful that he was no longer hurt and could pull her tightly into his arms where she belonged…where he belonged. Lana climbed in next to him, pressing her back into his chest, knowing without asking that he wanted to hold her this way, spoon her like he loved to do.
He wrapped his arms around her waist, his voice almost a whisper. "I'm afraid to go to sleep."
She put her hand over his, squeezing it, reassuring him. "Talk about it. Maybe it will help."
He voiced his fears. The ones he had told Helen about, but she hadn't helped to put his mind at ease. She ha only agreed that she, too, was scared. "I'm afraid that if I go to sleep, when I wake up, whatever happened today will have reversed. Like if I wake up, I'll be hurt again," he said, pausing before adding, "So is Helen, that's why she wants me to stay here tonight."
And he was so scared. What if he woke up the next morning and his ribs were broken again? And he had to go through all that pain again? Because as much as he told Lana and Helen, the pain was that much worse. He didn't know if he could handle it another day. What if he had to?
She shifted closer to him, lightly running her fingers over the top of his hand. "I believe that when you wake up, you will be just as you are now. Your ribs will still be healed and you will be ready to leave," she assured him. "Sleep tonight Whitney, nothing will happen."
With those words he knew nothing could happen to him. Not if she was there with him. As much as he tried to protect her, she protected just as much if not more. He hadn't been exaggerating when he said that her mere touch took his pain, and all of the bad away. It was as if her touch pulled all of his pain away. It was…magical.
He pulled her closer and she began to rub his arm lightly. "You can sleep, I won't let anything happen to you," she told him softly.
He began to relax, knowing that as long as she was there he would be okay no matter what happened. She quieted her voice even more, "You need to be awake for verbal judo with Henry."
He closed his eyes, smiling sleepily. "I will. He won't know what hit him."
As she continued her soothing movements he relaxed completely, his breathing deepening as he began to fall asleep. She stilled, moving to hold his hand as he fell into a deep sleep, no longer worried now that she was safely in his arms.