Authors Notes: This ones got a bit of blood and doctoring.

Unruly Company

Chapter 11

Country

Tires crunched over gravel as Danny pulled into the old house. It was a bright yellow and white farm house. Their was a barn in the back that looked like it was ready to fall in on itself. It always looked like that actually. There were wild chickens pecking the ground all around the house Danny slowly the door open on the car and touched Zareths forehead. He flinched from the touch, he was burning up.

"Zareth...come on. Lets get you inside." Danny told him and pulled him off the grey leathered back seat. He grunted and panted as he held onto the side of the car. His eyes were flicking, but they locked on Danny as she pulled his arm around her shoulder.

"Why didn't you just...l...such a bummer." Hes eyes rolled and he slumped for a moment. He looked back up at her when he pulled himself together. Danny pulled him into the house. All the furniture had cloth over it. Their was a thin layer of dust all over the place, The sun shown through the curtains making a lovely dust line.

"Where?" Zareth looked at her tiredly.

"My grandparents old farm house. They left it to me. Since I worked in the city I never had a reason to come out here unless it was summer. So I just never use it otherwise." She said and helped Zareth onto the couch. "D...Don't sit back okay." She said and ran out of the room. Zareth closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, his whole body hurt. He wasn't to sure how long he was sitting there like that. He felt cold hands on his face. He slowly looked up into Dannys eyes. She was so concerned for him. She had a wide variety of things spread out on the floor now. Actually they were things he didn't like to see. He looked up into Dannys eyes.

"I have to get that arrow out Zareth. I'm sorry." She said. Zareth reached behind him and felt along the arrow. He gritted his teeth and then felt his front. He couldn't feel the tip. He swallowed hard and nodded his head.

"I trust you babe." He turned around. "Just be gentle with me." He looked back at her. She smiled kindly at him and kissed his nose. "Aww thanks babe." He chuckled.

"Bite down on this." She offered him a belt. He bit down on it and swallowed. "Stand up straight." Zareth did as he was told and stood up straight. Zareth could feel Danny grab hold of the arrow.

"I'm sorry Zareth…"

"Its alr…" Instead of pulling the arrow. She pushed it. It broke through the skin on Zareths stomach. Zareths strength left him. Danny was holding him up fully now. They sank to the floor.

"Dan...ny. Why?" Zareths words hurt her so much. She quickly cut the feather part off with a pair of wire cutters. Luckily it was just wood and not that plastic stuff that splintered when you cut it.

"Almost done...almost...hang on to me again." Zareth looked up at Danny. His brow was creased. He was angry with her. Danny slowly reached forward and pulled the arrow out the rest of the way. Zareth cringed and gagged at the feel. Danny grabbed a wet cloth and placed it over the front. Her hands were shaking. Her head swam from the sight of all the blood, and oil on the floor.

"I gotta coderize it Zareth." She gulped and pulled out an old butane blow torch and turned it on.

"W...Whoa?" He tried to pull himself away, but he couldn't. He was just to weak to move very fast.

"Its going to hurt. But I promise you, I'm not doing this on purpose. But I've got to stop the bleeding. I've got to close those wounds...or you'll die." Danny leaned forward putting her forehead against his. She pulled back and held up the leather belt again. He glared at her from where he sat against the couch. Dannys eyes closed and she took a deep breath. She reached for a round rod and placed it in the torches hottest area.

"Why?" Zareth asked sternly. Danny shook her head.

"I'm not doing it on purpose Zareth...its what your supposed to do." Danny said. Danny gasped when the bar got to hot and burned her fingers. She gasped and put her finger in her mouth.

"Danny I…"

"I'm annoying, and I cry a lot, and I can't fight, and...and I'm no good at cards, and I'm ugly, and I…" Zareth reached out and lightly pulled her chin to look at him. "But you stay with me. Despite all that Dareth...loves me. I still don't see why. So if theirs ever a way I can help him I do it. Because I love him. Its stupid, and its corny and...those potstickers...I learned the recipe a week ago so I could make them. The look on your face when you saw them...that was enough for me. I had made him happy. So believe me Zareth when I say I'm not doing this on purpose, because its hurting you. I'd steal the pain away from you and keep it for myself if I could." Danny said running her fingers over his scabbed knuckles. Zareth turned his hand over and took her hand in his. He pulled it up to his lips and kissed them. They were just as scabbed as his from running, and falling in the forest. Her shoulders visibly slumped, and she let go of the air she had been holding in her lungs without realizing it. She swallowed and her hand shakily took the rod again and held it in the torch. She swallowed hard and looked at him.

"Twice...I gotta do it twice. Front and back." She looked so scared that zareth would be angry with her again. She took a deep breath and looked him in his eyes. Zareth could see how tired she was.

"Never did go on that vacation…" He swallowed and felt the rod go into his back. Zareths yells echoed throughout the house. Danny was sure a few of the neighbors a few miles away heard. Zareth clung to Dannys body for dear life. He was shivering, and panting.

"No we never did...you doing anything for Christmas? I gotta...I got two weeks off." Danny said and put the rod back into the torch again. Zareth opened his eyes to see tears running down her face. She sniffled and ran her arm over her eyes. It left a line of blood in its wake. She gasped and dropped the rod and looked at her hands. Zareth took a cloth and handed it to her.

"Your okay...thats what matters to me." He coughed. Danny held out a cup and helped him drink the water.

"Alright...once more and then you can rest. I promise."

"H...How about some more of those puffy potstickers?" He asked. Danny smiled and lightly kissed him. "Hey…" He went to adjust his collar, but he realized that he dropped his jacket back at the river when he was shot. "My jacket…" He looked up at her. She shook her head and sat back.

"My shirt…" She said. Zareth gasped not even noticing she was sitting there in her bra. His face turned all kinds of pink. "I just didn't care. I ran with you. Modesty wasn't something I needed to worry about. I had to get you out." She pulled the rod out of the flames and looked at him.

"You ready?" Shea sked. Zareth scooted back and swallowed. He exhaled and nodded.

"Alright babe...give me your best shot." He said putting his hands on her shoulders. She pushed the rod into the wound. She could fell he tried his hardest not to yell. But his voice broke free and his yelled were heard all over again. He fell limp against the couch.

"Zareth?" Danny gasped putting her fingers just under the left side of his chin. She could feel his pulse. He was just unconscious. She sat back looking at his slumped form and her eyes softened. "I don't deserve someone like you." She began to gather the things from the floor and put them back in the kitchen.

Zareths eyes opened to the sound of birds, and the sun shining through the curtain. He looked around the room seeing the old cat figurines on a shelf on either side of the windows. Their was an old tv in the corner. It was the only bunny ear ones. Their was another chair in the corner. It looked like someone had been knitting something there not to long ago. He tried to sit up, but he still felt incredibly sore. He looked down to see that his chest was bare. His shirt was in pieces on the floor, and their was a piece of arrow on top. Reality began to swim back to him. He jumped when he heard a thunk sound. He knew that sound, he used to make that sound all the time back in Berchwood…He lay back down and closed his eyes again.

He opened his eyes again and looked around, it was much later now in the day. The tv had been turned on, and Danny was sitting in the corner knitting what looked like a scarf. It was still rather cold outside. Their had been a blanket pulled up to his chin. He looked at Danny again. She looked so peaceful right there.

'Shes sad.' Dareth whispered

'How can you tell? She's just sitting there.' Zane said, he wasn't ever really good with human emotions.

' why would she be happy.' Dareth said Zane knew this to be true.

"Danny…" Zareths voice was hoarse.

"Zareth?" Danny put the knitting down and walked over to him taking the cloth from his forehead and re-wet it. "Stay there, you have a massive fever and I've run out of medication. Just hang on Zareth...I won't leave you. Just hang on." The last half of what she said sounded like it echoed through his mind.

"How...How long?" He swallowed trying to get the cotton feel out of his mouth.

"Shhh three days." She helped him take a drink before his eyes rolled again. "Zareth...please."

Zareth opened his eyes again. The room was once again empty. He looked around and sighed. His soreness was almost gone, and the pain in his stomach was barely there. He slowly sat up on the couch and looked at his stomach. His wounds had been redressed. He got up from the couch and walked around the house a little to get a look at it and to try to find Danny. He walked out the back door to see Danny on her knees in what he believed to be the garden. The snow had been pushed to one side and their was a basket on the ground next to her. Carrots, and potatoes were in it already, but she had an onion in her hand.

"Babe?" His voice was to low, it was like he couldn't speak to loud. He cleared his throat. Danny jumped and looked behind her. "Hey babe...lookin good." He smiled at her.

"Zareth…" Her face broke into a huge smile and she dropped the onion on the ground. She ran forward and looked as if she were about to leap into his arms, but she stopped short and ran her fingers over his wound. She pulled the bindings a bit and looked under them.

"Hey...hey that tickles." He laughed trying to get her roaming fingers away from his belly. She then reached up and felt his forehead. She sighed and stepped back again.

"Your okay."

"Of course babe...with you taking care of me I feel like a million bucks again."

"Oh?" Danny poked his belly. He cringed and rubbed the spot. He let out an unsure chuckle.

"I said feel...feel." He said and sat down on the steps.

"Its been about a week." Danny told him. Zareth blinked and looked at her. He ran his fingers through his hair. It wasn't even oily. He looked down at his feet, they were bare. They had socks on before.

"You...you took care of me for an entire week while i was out?" He asked rather amazed at this. Danny put her hair behind her ear.

"Well yeah...why wouldn't I?" Danny said. Zareth raised his eyebrows and looked at her sideways.

"Oh don't ask." Danny put up her hands. She picked up the basket and helped him up. "Come on lets go make dinner."