Keri waited nervously in the motel's grubby lobby. Finally someone came out to the desk.

"Help you?" the unkempt man behind the counter mumbled.

"I hope so; I'd like a room for tonight and maybe tomorrow night as well."

"Just you?"

"Uh, yes."

"Twenty bucks, cash.

"Okay…" she began

"Another five bucks for amenities."

"What amenities?"

"Towels, ice, bed linens, you know, extras."

Keri struggled not to show her shock. Amenities to her meant data ports, saunas, massage rooms. She sighed. This was a different world. "How much extra for a large basin with steaming hot water?"

The man stared at her, his curiosity so strong she couldn't miss it.

"I've been walking quite a ways, my feet hurt."

"Five bucks."

Keri nodded. 'Five bucks' seemed to be the standard for 'extras'. "Okay, so that would be thirty dollars for tonight with the room, the amenities and the basin of hot water, and twenty-five for tomorrow night for the room and the amenities." She dug in her purse and pulled out three of the twenties.

"And twenty for the deposit," he added.

"What deposit?"

"For the linens. They come back in decent shape or you gotta replace 'em."

Keri was quickly becoming fed up. "How much damage could I possibly do to them in one or two nights?" The man just stared at her with a very sick smirk. She decided she didn't want to know. "Okay, fine." She added another twenty.

He took the bills and stuck them in his shirt pocket, handed her two keys, a pile of sheets, two pillows with pillowcases, one oversized and one regular bath towel, two washcloths, and an ice bucket. "The key with the number is for the room. It's on the left side of the building. The other one's for the ice machine. What time you want the basin?"

She sighed as she checked her watch. Evidently he wasn't planning to give her any change. "About two hours, okay?"

The man nodded, then walked back into the office and flopped down in front of the television, not bothering to close the door.

Keri gathered up the 'amenities', picked up the keys and headed outside to the door with the corresponding number. She had closed and locked it behind her when she realized he hadn't even asked for her name, let alone had her sign in.

A quiet tap on the door a half-hour later found Keri in the bathroom that, under the circumstances, she had been relieved to find in the room. She ran to open it, and Lewis slipped in. He was distinctly angry.

"Why did you open the door?" he hissed.

"You knocked."

"Keridwen, you need to find out who it is before…" his voice became inaudible as she retreated to the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

After finishing her shower she dressed in one of the large sized T-shirts she had thrown in the armor bag and her somewhat wet, but clean undies. Struggling to dry her hair with the damp towel, she walked out to find the bed made and Lewis sitting on the floor in a lotus position. "I knew it was you," she told him defensively.

He looked up. "Of course."

"I did!"

"I agreed with you."

"Oh." She looked around the room. Not only was the bed made, but also the things she had tossed on the floor had been picked up and neatly arranged. A new stash of groceries and fresh bottles of water were on the small dresser by the door. The remaining tools were stacked over by the wall and the armor bag was open and draped over a chair near the open window, presumably so that it would air out. The opened pack of T-shirts was nowhere to be seen; though she imagined they had been put in a drawer. Keri jumped as he suddenly stood, the otherwise fluid movement ruined by a shifting of the injured left leg and a wince. She smothered the urge to offer help.

Lewis turned to look at her. "Did you leave me any hot water?"

"In this place, who could tell?" she muttered sarcastically as she went to check out his purchases. "I did, however, leave you a dry towel. They only gave me two."

"Are the accommodations not up to the Ashton standards?" he said directly in her ear, his hands coming to rest on her hips.

Keri frowned, ruthlessly suppressing a shiver. Not only had he startled her…she had to remember just how fast he could move, but the warmth of his breath on her neck and the way his energy ran over her body in such close proximity was surprisingly arousing. "The Ashtons," she finally managed, "don't even admit places like this exist." His rich chuckle filled her ear as he backed away. The hands slid from her hips almost in a caress as he headed for the bathroom. Once the door had closed she ran to the bed and threw herself on it, covering her head with a pillow. "Enough with the overactive imagination, Keri," she muttered into the mattress. "You do not need this and he sure as hell isn't interested anyway." She sighed and twisted the pillow in her hands. "Don't make yourself look like a fool."

Lewis washed his hair, liberally soaped his entire body, and then stood under the hot water until the grime had been thoroughly washed away. Then he reached out and resolutely turned off the hot and fully opened the cold water tap. He winced and then shivered as it ran down him while he used meditation techniques to banish the reason that he was subjecting himself to the chill deluge. But try as he might, he could not get the picture of Keridwen standing there, clad in nothing but a T-shirt and a lacy pair of underpants, out of his head. Her breasts had strained against the thin damp cotton, and the flare of her full hips…it was a shame, he decided, that he owed her his life…otherwise he would not hesitate to use her to satisfy his needs. It was also a shame that she was sapiens. Were she of his people, he could offer her more then mere sexual gratification and eventual abandonment.

Sighing, he emerged from the cold shower. He felt a bit warm, despite having stood under the chilly water for more than a quarter hour. And his back itched. He twisted to examine it in the dingy mirror. His eyebrows rose at the sight of red angry lines radiating from one of the sutured cuts. It was definitely infected.

He started to leave the bathroom, paused to grab the now wet towel, and fastened it about his hips. With any luck, the cold wetness would allow him to keep his mind off of Keridwen's…attributes.

The woman was huddled under the sheets on one edge of the double bed with a pillow over her head. She didn't feel as though she were asleep. "Keridwen," he said softly, not wishing to startle her.

"Go away," was the muffled response.

"I have a problem." The sheet wrapped form did not move. Lewis frowned, and mentally gritted his teeth. "Keridwen, I need your help."

The pillow moved and a head covered with tousled red hair emerged, then lifted to reveal tear-reddened eyes. "With what?" she said sullenly.

He frowned; decided the stress must be getting to her then wordlessly turned around.

"Oh my god!" The sheets rustled as she pushed them aside and he felt her cool hands on the heated skin surrounding the wound. "How did it get so badly infected?" she asked.

Lewis glanced over his shoulder. "Your trunk, the mud, Davis' shirt…take your pick."

Keridwen flushed. "Yeah, I guess there's been plenty of opportunity. We're probably lucky it's just the one site."

He nodded, mentally chastising himself for the approval he felt for her use of 'we'. "The wound needs to be opened and cleaned," he told her. "Then re-sutured."

"I don't know how to do sutures," she complained. "You know that."

"You will learn." He sighed as she shuddered; recognizing the emotion she allowed him to feel as fear of doing harm rather than disgust at the thought of handling the wound. "I'll talk you through it," he promised. "But it has to be done now, before fever sets in."

Keridwen raised worried eyes to his and reached up to place the back of her hand against his forehead. "I've got news for you, the fever has already set in…but I know what you mean," she continued before he could interrupt. "Before it gets to the point where you aren't too coherent, huh?"

"Yes."

Keridwen retrieved the towel she had set to drying, and laid it out on the bed. She directed him to replace the towel he had wrapped around his waist with the sheet, and put the second towel with the first. He complied, though he wasn't sure what the purpose was. As he lay down on the damp towels his mouth twitched. It was cold and wet…perfect considering he would shortly have her at close quarters. He heard her rummaging through the medical kit and saw her place items on the dilapidated nightstand.

She almost dropped the satchel as a loud knock came at the door. "Oh shit," she muttered. "I completely forgot."

His eyebrows rose as she grabbed the other sheet and spread it out over him, covering his head. A few seconds later he heard her moving the cover away from the peephole; then the sound of the locks opening reached his ears.

"Oh, thank you!" she said. "Just in time."

"You need some help with that?" said an unknown male voice, the tone lascivious.

"No, I've got it. I'll drop the basin down by the desk in the morning, okay?"

"Yeah, sure." The male voice was resigned this time.

The door closed and was locked, and Lewis could hear Keridwen returning to the bed, her footsteps sounding awkward…and he could swear he heard water sloshing. He finally identified the sound as being almost identical to when she had carried the washing basin into the cell at her cousin's facility. The sheet was finally pulled away and he looked up at her questioningly.

"Sorry about that. I'd ordered a basin of steaming hot water for my feet." She frowned at his incredulous reaction. "My feet hurt, okay? I'm not used to walking all day long, let along on a trail and through rocky streams and creeks for god's sake."

Lewis chuckled quietly. "By all means, soak your abused feet," he told her.

"No, I'm going to use it to clean out your infection, I may be a spoiled Ashton, but I do understand about priorities, you know." She disappeared into the bathroom, emerging with the washcloths. "I'm going to use these first. Dr. Bowman didn't give us all that much in the way of sterile bandaging and sponges."

He nodded, folding his left arm under his chin. The right, still in its gel cast, was stretched out awkwardly. Lewis sighed as he felt the warm soapy water being applied to his back. She carefully washed around the injury, stroking gently but firmly. His eyes snapped open. He had to stop thinking about her hands on his back, or on any other part of his anatomy. The wound was throbbing and so was…he groaned and buried his face in the mattress.

"Are you okay?" she asked worriedly. "I didn't think I was hurting you."

Lewis lifted his head. "I'm fine."

"If you say so," she said skeptically, applying the cool antiseptic wash to the wound with one of the sterile sponges. "Okay, all clean and sterilized as best as I can do, what next?"

"Cut the sutures and pull them out. Did he give you a scalpel?"

"Yes."

"Good. You may have to cut the wound open if it's closed too much to get at the infected area." He sighed as he felt a slightly sick feeling running through her. "You can do it; I have faith in your ability to handle it."

"You keep saying that," Keridwen muttered as she grabbed the scissors and began snipping at the sutures.

... ...

Two hours later, the infected wound was cleaned, stitched, and bandaged. Keri decided that suturing wasn't too bad, but cleaning out the infection…that was not something she ever wanted to do again. He had suggested that she stop reading him while she was working on the wound, and in fact had wondered aloud why she was still reading him at all. She had been wondering the same thing. She just couldn't seem to close the connection. Oh, there were times that he was totally closed off to her extra senses, but Keri had the distinct impression that was due to something that he had done to block her.

After it was finished, Lewis had submitted to an injection of the antibiotic, and then settled down on his left side to get some rest. She had dumped the basin, and then ran the water in the bathtub until it got as hot as possible. He'd been amused again when she staggered back into the bedroom with the full basin, then sat down and sighed happily as she slipped her aching feet into it.

It had been difficult to relax under his intent gaze, but she'd finally managed. Once the water had cooled, she prepared some of the food he had bought…canned meats and fruits along with sharp cheese and fresh bread. She'd spread part of the newspaper he'd picked up on the bed and brought the meal there for them to share.

Her anticipated charley horses had started once she had lain down to rest. One minute she was comfortably drowsy and the next pain began shooting through her calves and shins. Despite her best efforts to control it, whimpers began to emerge through her clenched teeth.

"Keridwen, what's wrong?" Lewis asked.

"I'll be fine. Go to sleep, you need to rest and get rid of that fever." The bed rocked and she looked up through her lashes to see him leaning on his elbow, frowning at her, his skin flushed and eyes bright.

"You are not fine now; I know you're in pain. Is it your feet?"

She shook her head.

"Woman, I'm in no mood to play twenty questions with you. Tell me what hurts."

Keri sighed at his irritation. "My legs. I've got charley horses in my calves and shins…" she shifted and shrieked softly. "Ohhh, and the top of my left foot now!" she wailed.

He moved to wrap the sheet around his waist and slid over to sit in the center of the bed, lifting her right leg onto his lap. "Relax. Try to think of something calm and peaceful. You know centering exercises; I've seen you use one."

She nodded and tried to use her chakra balance breathing routine, though without much success.

Lewis began to rub and stretch the knotted calf muscles, pressing in deep with strong fingers. He pulled on her leg and as the muscle would begin to knot, applied pressure to force it to smooth out into its proper path. After working the right leg into some semblance of normalcy, he let it rest on his thighs and began massaging her left foot. Taking the foot in both hands, he dug into the top with his thumbs while kneading the soles with his fingers.

Keri's breathing finally began to settle as the pain eased. His touch softened as the knotted muscles relaxed, becoming more of a caress. Her eyes shot open. The fever bright eyes were intent on her legs, the hands working patiently and impersonally on the still sore muscles. She squeezed her eyes shut, telling herself to ignore her over-active imagination.

The pain was finally gone and Keri felt a comfortable lassitude slip over her as his strong hands continued to massage her legs. She opened her eyes drowsily as the long fingers moved to her thighs. Now, that, she decided, was definitely not a clinical touch. The hands slid up her thighs to her hips as he moved over her and aggressively nuzzled her cheek. Keri began to panic as she reached out empathically and felt only the fever.

"Lewis, stop. You don't want this," she told him.

"You don't know what I want," he murmured in her ear.

"Well, it isn't this," she said, crawling up the bed and out from under him. Those blazing blue eyes looked at her reproachfully. "You need to go to sleep. Can't you feel that fever?"

He chuckled, "I feel heat, but it's no fever."

"Damn it, Lewis, cut it out!" Keri told him as his hand slid under the T-shirt. "You are ill and you are pissing me off."

"Ah, Keri, you know you want me," he purred, pinning her down on the bed, his hands now tangled in her hair.

Tears began to roll down her cheeks. "No! Not like this. Lewis, listen to yourself. You called me Keri." She struggled to pull herself out from under him. It wouldn't have been so difficult if she weren't worried about his injuries; the fever had sapped his strength. "That means you think I'm frivolous. You don't want me, Lewis, you want sex and I just happen to be here."

Lewis froze, staring at her, his bright eyes searching. Suddenly he groaned, dropping his head to rest on her shoulder. "Keridwen," he ground out, "I…I'm sorry." He pushed himself up and off of her, and knelt on the bed, shuddering, his hands resting on his knees. "Inexcusable," he muttered. "After all you have done, to treat you as an object…"

"It's okay," she said as she sat up and took his left hand in both of hers. "You've got a horrible fever, you weren't…"

"I should remain in control," he insisted stubbornly.

Keri smiled. He was definitely himself again. "Well, you're in control now, so why don't you lie down and rest, okay? I'll get some ice and soak the washcloths, see if we can bring down the fever a bit."

He sighed, his hand squeezing hers gently. "Yes. I would like that." Lewis settled down on his side again, his eyes drifting closed.

She climbed out of the bed, retrieved the ice bucket and keys then headed for the door.

"Put some clothes on," Lewis ordered.

"What?"

He looked up at her from the bed; the blue eyes half open and glittering. "You will not go out there half dressed, especially with that animal about."

"Animal? Oh, you mean the manager. I'd have called him a pervert, but…point taken." She walked back to the bathroom and checked on her clothes. The trench coat was almost dry. She pulled it off of the hanger and slipped it on. As she passed the bed, Lewis' hand shot out and grabbed her by the wrist.

"Take your weapon."

"I'm only going to the ice machine."

"Keridwen, don't argue with me. I won't be able to protect you. Please."

She sighed and reached for the medical kit, pulling the SW99 from its hiding place in the bottom. "Happy now?" she asked as she checked it and then tucked the handgun into her right hand pocket.

Lewis sighed and closed his eyes.

Keri shook her head as she slipped out the door, locking it behind her. That had been too close. Sighing, she admitted to herself that she wanted him, and badly, but not if he was going to treat her like a…she laughed bitterly…like a human…one of the species for which he felt nothing but contempt. That was the problem. She was human. And sexual attraction, assuming that attraction remained when he wasn't half out of his head with fever, was not going to change how he felt about her species. She filled the ice bucket and re-locked the machine, then headed back for the room.

"Cute outfit," said a voice behind her, making her jump.

Keri spun around to face the leering manager. It would take a pervert like that, she decided, to get off on a woman wearing a trenchcoat. "I didn't exactly have a lot of clothes with me," she told him.

"Uh huh. That's what they all say. So what's your story? Run away from a husband that beat ya?"

"Not exactly," she hedged.

"Nah. Hey, I got it, you're an heiress that got herself kidnapped," he crowed.

Keri blanched. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Forget it, baby. Your picture's all over the news. A real pretty one too. Got your hair all nice and wearin' that blue silk thing."

She rolled her eyes. "Wonderful."

"I should call the cops ya know."

"Why? I obviously wasn't kidnapped."

"Maybe, maybe not. Maybe you're doing one of those Patty Hearst things. You go and fall in love with your kidnapper? I hear those new species types are somethin' else in bed."

"I wouldn't know," she said icily, wondering how the hell a rumor like that got started. Probably in some chat room on the Internet, like all the other wild rumors going around these days, she thought. "Besides, I wasn't kidnapped," she insisted.

"Riiiigggghhht. You just got tired of all that Ashton money and privilege and got up and left."

"Look. If you must know, my grandfather was trying to force me to marry an old playboy who would have spent every last cent my parents left me and then slapped me around once I didn't have any more money to give him. He's done it to two wives already."

"Sure. I ain't stupid, baby. You'd have got yourself a pre-nupt. So what does one of them new species fellas look like anyway?" He pushed past her to try and peer in the grimy window. "That him?"

Keri was getting pissed. "I told you, I wasn't kidnapped. There is no new species so far as I know. That," she said, gesturing into the room with her thumb, "is my boyfriend, my dirt-poor boyfriend. My grandfather doesn't approve of him for obvious reasons. I ran away, and now grandfather is trying to make a federal case out of it. End of story."

"What's wrong with him? He sick?"

Keri thought quickly. Illness might make the manager even less tractable. Besides, if Lewis were to turn over, the scars would give away the lie. "When he picked me up from the family compound, Grandfather set the dogs on us. He got hurt protecting me."

"Dogs? He got rabies?" the manager asked, sounding panicked.

Shit, Keri thought. Oh, great choice, genius. "Of course not," she told him. "We are talking about AKC registered rottweilers specially bred and trained as guard dogs. They have all their shots and definitely don't carry rabies."

"Oh. So why ain't he in the hospital?"

Keri looked at him, totally exasperated. "The hospital would call the police, who would immediately call my grandfather."

"Well now, you don't want no truck with the cops, huh? What a shame they's looking for you and all. I should probably just mosey on along and do my civic duty," the manager told her with a smirk. "Unless, Miss Rich Girl, you wanna make it worth my while not to."

"That's extortion."

He shrugged.

"Look, I don't have very much money with me. Do you think I'd be staying here if I did? And I'm sure they've put a hold on my checking account."

"You rich girls all got American Express Cards," he said.

"I cut it up. Don't you see them track people on TV all the time by them using their credit cards?"

"Well, you gotta have somethin' valuable on ya. Where's your jewelry?"

"I don't wear any."

"How 'bout that watch, looks like gold to me."

Keri sighed. It was gold. The case and band were 18kt. It was custom made and had been a gift from her favorite aunt.

"Gimme the watch and I'll forget you was ever here," the man offered.

"It's the only watch I have. How am I going to know what time it is?"

He took off his Timex and held it out to her. "Use this." He glared at her appalled look. "Whatsamatter, ain't good enough for you, Miss High and Mighty Ashton. Last chance baby. I'll call the cops, I don't give a shit."

Keri sighed again and took off her watch, trading it for the worn Timex.

"Now that's better, real cooperative-like. You got 'til Friday night. The owner comes in Saturday and if you're still here, I gotta call the cops then." He turned and walked off, holding the watch up to see it glimmer in the sun.

Three days. Keri frowned as she unlocked the door to the room. She hoped Lewis had recovered well enough for them to move on by then.