Don't own Kim Harrison's stuff.
We heard the "doorbell" ring and the door open. The smell of wolf floated on the breeze that passed through the door. David was here. The shower was running in my bathroom and Ivy and I were on our second and third cup of coffee. Neither of us were fit for company before at least one cup.
"Rachel?" David's voice carried through the hall into the kitchen.
"We're in the kitchen, David." His head peeked around the corner before the rest of him came through.
He was smiling and carrying his briefcase. He'd told me he had papers he needed for me, as his alpha, to sign for the company. We had a pack now. Two human women he'd turned Were by accident when he'd had a demon cursed Were artifact hidden in his freezer. The focus was now IN him. He'd taken it on to save my life and so it would be with the Were community without them knowing it was there. He was an alpha and able to suppress the urges of the spirit that had once been trapped in a bone statue my ex-boyfriend had stolen. The same ex that had lured Jenks oldest son into a life of crime and sold information about me to a demon. How screwed up was MY life?
"I've got to get to work but I wanted to get these papers signed before I went in. It's just an integration papers for the girls to join the pack." His smile slipped a little when he pulled them out. "And the posthumous for Brett."
I nodded and pulled a pen from Ivy's pencil cup. Brett had been one of the Were's we'd dealt with in Macanaw. When three groups of Were's had band together in a round to take the focus. Had they gotten there hands on it there would have been no way to stop them. And with an alpha bent on domination… it could have been bad. I'd used Brett to send a message and afterwards he'd been booted from his pack. At least that's what I thought. David seemed to think he left to find something better.
I'd turned into a wolf with a demon curse and beaten the alpha's wife in a fight. Well, maybe not beaten as much as earned the respect of the local natural wolves. She'd run and I hadn't. The wolves killed her and I won. Stranger things have happened. But Brett had seen it all and apparently liked what he saw. He'd followed me back home and stalked me for a few months. David finally approached him and found out he wanted to join our pack. That same night Trent Kalamack killed him. Not that it made much difference to him, since he claimed Brett committed suicide to prevent himself from telling where the focus was.
I'd had the evidence to bring him in. But money talks and Trent was out for my blood. Jenks worked with Quen to "misplace" the evidence and in return got the deed to the land and the church we live in, and maybe a reprieve for me. It didn't matter. I'd take him down again if I could. Maybe at his anniversary part? Nah, I couldn't wait that long.
Brett had been a good man. He hadn't deserved to die. None of the Were's that Trent killed deserved to die. I was still pissed about it. If it weren't for the black I'd get on my soul, I swear I'd curse him into his next life. But he wasn't worth the payback. And never would be.
"Are you alright, Rachel?" Ivy was looking at me worriedly. I must have been staring for a while. I hadn't realized I'd drifted off on my own thoughts.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking. Let me see those papers." I pulled the forms toward me and Ivy offered David a cup of coffee. He leaned back on the island and watched me sign.
"You look tired. Have a late night?" He asked innocently enough but I stiffened anyway. Ivy grew still at her side of the table. The song of the keyboard going silent as she, no doubt, waited for my answer.
"You could say that." I looked up as I moved to the next form.
He didn't look convinced and I knew he wasn't going to let this go. Since Kistens death he'd paid way more attention to my moods and could read me better than most. I wasn't happy about this new found interest in my life. Didn't he have enough on his plate without worrying about me? And now that I'd thought about Kisten I was sad all over again. I missed him terribly. The warmest and yet most mischievous smile in the world and it was gone forever. I hadn't found the vampire that killed him yet, but I would. I swore I would.
The shower went off and as if he hadn't noticed it before, David turned a quizzical eye toward the hallway. "Who had the hot date that stayed overnight?" His voice of light with humor but I knew he was racking his brain trying to figure out who would be in our shower this time of day. I watched him mentally tick off all the possibilities, then turned my eyes to Ivy. Her face was impassive but the look in her eyes said she wasn't happy. Whether is was about Jenks in my bed last night or not telling David Jenks was the one in the shower I had no clue.
It didn't matter anyway. A moment later Jenks came through the doorway in a white silk shirt and loose white cotton pants. I recognized them and realized he'd gotten out the clothes we'd bought for him that week. We'd have to get more and his allergy to oil based synthetic material was going to make his wardrobe expensive. I guess I'd send him with Ivy. She'd be impressed at the sheer speed and efficiency with which he shopped. He moved gracefully into the room and stared at the coffee pot before passing it up for a bottle of water from the frig. David stared at him for a long time, obviously confused. Then it happened.
Jenks closed the refrigerator door, turned with the bottle of water in his hand and smiled. "Hi, David! What are you doing here?"
All the blood left David's face. His hands shook as he started stammering. "J-j-j-jenks?" If he hadn't been pressed against the island counter, I was sure he would have fallen on his rear in my kitchen. As it was he'd started listing to the side and Ivy deftly stood and took the few steps to reach out and right him before he tipped too far.
Jenks, however, was all smiles. "Yep! What do you think? Pretty cool, eh?" He twirled like a dancer and stop in a rather manly and slightly provocative pose. Ivy actually blinked before shaking herself and taking her seat again.
"What? How?" David turned his accusing eyes on me. "What have you done?"
I'd expected this and thought long and hard over what I'd tell him. He knew I did demon magic. He knew I didn't like it but would use it to help my friends and family if I needed to. He accepted that with an easy must people never would. I appreciated that so I felt I owed him an answer for this. He liked Jenks. He would want to know what had happened and why.
I didn't get the chance though. "I asked her to." Jenks expression was light but not cheerful. Sadness had seeped into his eyes and his smile was a little droopy at the corners. "My children don't need me anymore. Not in the capacity that small children need a father. Guess I taught them too well how to live without us. But I always thought I'd go first." His smile turned crooked and he walked up to David. The Were was short to begin with and Jenks height made him look just a little smaller. No, that wasn't it. Jenks force of personality made him seem smaller. David always filled a room with the weight of his power and the strength of his personality. But Jenks was a pixie and pixies weren't cute and cuddly. They were dangerous and ruthless. The Were's could learn and thing or two from Jenks.
"I want to take care of Rachel and Ivy for a while among other things." I didn't know about the other things but I wasn't going to ask right now. "I'm cool with this so don't worry about it." He turned from David and walked over to sit on the counter. We'd have to get another chair in here.
David blinked a few times. He'd gotten over the shock of seeing Jenks and having to look up at him for reasons other than he was flying over his head. He nodded as he relaxed. "Alright. But I'd really like to know what you did? As I recall, the last time you did this is was a demon curse. I'll assume it's the same this time."
I nodded and signed the last of the papers. He gave me a stern look and I raised both eyebrows at him. The stern look didn't go away. "I did it for Jenks. It's the first curse I've twisted since the focus. I haven't had any demon visitors." I crossed myself and my fingers then said a little prayer it would stay that way. "And I can handle the black. Ceri's right, it's not that bad and I can pay it back. I've got some time."
He didn't look too pleased but he nodded acceptance and took the papers I handed to him. "Just be careful. How long does this curse last? When do you change him back?" He turned to the island and opened his briefcase to put the papers away. He was closing the case when I answered.
"He doesn't change back. This is permanent." I watched him stop in the motion of locking the case and blink twice. Then he hit the floor with a loud thud.
I blinked down at his still body. Jenks had moved to his side and was bending down to see if he was hurt. Ivy moved in next to me and huffed. "Should have seen that one coming."
Yeah. We should have.
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"This is PERMANENT?!" David winced with the rest of us though only his head was hurting. He had a lump from his fall and was currently stretched out on Ivy's couch with an ice pack pressed to the side of his head, staring at Jenks in horror.
"We talked this over. It's what Jenks wanted." The pixie in question was reassuring his children, who had come in about the time we'd started moving David out of the kitchen, that everything was alright and there was no need to worry. I'd been surprised and please to see that several of the older pixies had been carrying swords and bows in their hands as they flew in. Apparently they'd heard the noise and thought there was some kind of attack. When they saw their father drop to the floor they ran to help. The younger ones were in the stump being guarded by a few armed siblings. Jenks was right. The pixies would be fine.
"What about his kids, his job?" He took a breath and stared at me wide eyed. "Where the hell is he sleeping?" There was moment of complete silence in which Jenks kids quietly left the room. Guess Ivy wasn't the only one who knew where Jenks had slept last night. David looked appalled. "Where is Jenks sleeping, Rachel?"
Jenks straightened and moved to the head of the couch. "I'm sleeping on a cot in her room until we can get some space cleared for me. I didn't give them any time to think about little things like that and I can sleep anywhere so long as it's not too cold." He said it perfectly straight faced and if I hadn't been cuddled up next to him last night I'd have believed him myself.
David took a beat before he finally breathed out, looking relieved. "I just can't believe you've done this. This is almost in line with converting humans into Were's."
Ivy crossed her arms and gave David angry eyes. "This is nothing like that. Jenks asked Rachel for this. His children asked Rachel for this. Do you honestly think she'd do this just for the hell of it?" I cleared my throat when I noticed her color getting high. She swung to me with, hands fisted at her side. "What?!" Okay. So it was the sunburn maybe. I held up my hands in surrender and she swung back on David. But David also had his hands up in surrender. No one wanted to piss Ivy off. If she said it was all good, it was all good.
"I don't understand it, but if this is what you want… I just hope you realize what you've done." He'd leaned back to look up at Jenks.
Jenks lips tipped up at the corners. "I know. And that's all that matters."
Silence reined after that statement and David gathered himself and his papers up and left with a wave and a nervous smile. The rest of us started our day. Ivy had a run and was gathering her maps and other miscellaneous tools. I was at the counter, cutting up veggies and putting them in my large copper spell pot. The one with the dent the shape of Ivy's head. It wasn't useable for spell casting anymore. The sauce bubbled inside and I turned back the heat. I head the soft hush of good leather before Ivy leaned back on the counter.
"I don't think I'll be back before morning." She seemed relaxed as she leaned her lower back on the curve of the counter. I took a closer look and noted the tightness of her muscles.
"You need Jenks to go with you?" I had expected this. Though I'd hoped she would just let it go.
"No. It's nothing I can't deal with on my own. If you want, we can start clearing out the attic tomorrow. There's plenty of room up there for him and easy access of the kids. I…" He chin dropped to her chest.
"He was upset and needed to be comforted. I wasn't going to kick him out of the bed. And I'd say I'm sorry if it bothers you but I'm not sorry. I won't apologize for taking care of a friend." I turned back to the stove and waited for the explosion.
But it didn't come. "I wasn't upset. Okay, I was upset initially but...," she took a deep breath but I didn't turn to look at her. She didn't like to share and I wanted to hear this. If we were going to have problems, I wanted to know now. "I wanted to help."
I stopped stirring and turned full body to stare at her. Her chin was against her chest and her eyes were closed. Shoulders slumped; she looked very little like the confident, stoic Ivy I was used to seeing. I'd only seen her break down once. Just once. I didn't want to see that again.
"I want to help and I don't know if I can." She visibly swallowed. "I couldn't help Kisten. I was angry and scared and I didn't even fight for him."
"I wasn't your fault. Piscary…"
She cut me off. "Shut up." She turned her head to look at me. "It's not the first time. I couldn't save him. I couldn't save you." She lowered her head again and stared at the floor tiles. "I don't know how to help Jenks. That's why I'm not saying anything about him sleeping with you."
I small part of me relaxed and I started stirring the sauce again.
"But I hate it. That you can be so easy with each other and I can't share in it."
My spoon stopped again but I didn't look at her. "No one is stopping you from comforting a friend."
"I am, because I don't trust myself not to make it more than it is." She straightened and walked to the table for her bag. Moments later I heard the front door slam shut. I relaxed a little but didn't look up from the pot.
She'd made it clear months ago that she wouldn't accept a blood balance. She wanted all or nothing. She'd sealed that deal with a kiss and if I hadn't panicked it might have been more. She'd shared me with Kisten because he'd sworn he wouldn't bite me unless I offered. Not that it stopped me from biting him. But Jenks…
"Rache?" I turned from the sauce to see Jenks in the doorway. His golden curls were haloed in the dim light coming from the kitchen windows and his green eyes were a little worried. He'd heard at least part of the conversation.
"Don't worry, Jenks. We'll handle it." My smile was a little forced.
"If where I sleep is a big problem, I can…"
I lifted the spoon and tapped it on the side of the pot. "It's not a problem. It caught me a little off guard but it's not a big deal. It's not like I've never slept in bed with a guy before." That made him blush. Two little spots of color showed on his perfect cheeks and his ears tipped red. "You're safe with me." I smiled and started to turn back to the pot.
"Do you love me?" I jerked toward him. The worry was fading from his eyes. It was the second time in as many days he'd asked me that question and I wasn't sure how to answer it. Why was he asking? He smiled brightly at me and turned back to the door. He stopped before walking out. "Don't worry. I'll take care of you."
I stood there with sauce from the spoon dripping on the floor, wondering when my life would ever be normal and what exactly had just happened.
Sorry it took so long to get this up. It was longer than I expected. Please read and review.
