Chapter 10

2 days later

Ethan slowly parted his eyelids. The morning sun was falling directly across his face. He groaned, closing his eyes again. He waited for a few seconds and then slowly opened his eyes, this time giving it time to adjust. He turned his head to see that the curtains were parted, the window seemed to be glowing a brilliant golden. The sun rays bathed his room. His room. His head swiftly turned around, taking in the place. His eyes finally come to a stop at the bed, for beside him lay Danny, still blissfully fast asleep.

Since Ethan had moved, the sunlight now fell over Danny's face, making his face scrunch up even in his sleep. Ethan smiled and lifted himself slightly on his elbow and turned to face Danny, so that he was guarding Danny against the harsh light. Danny's face relaxed again, having found the shadow. Ethan let his mind wander, taking in the silence, the even heart beat, and the complete peace of his surroundings. He felt a movement against his bare chest; Danny, who had his arm placed around Ethan, was stirring. Danny blinked, letting his eyes adjust and then stared up at Ethan. Involuntarily, he let out a small laugh.

"Why are you staring at me?" Danny asked, nudging Ethan's neck with his face, forcing Ethan to fall back on the pillows.

"Nothing. Just got up", Ethan replied. Danny nodded, yawning.

"You sleep alright?" he asked, sitting up. Ethan followed suit and nodded.

"Yes!" he grinned broadly. He planted a kiss on Danny's cheek and got down from the bed. Smiling happily, Danny hopped down too, prepared to get ready for school.

Half an hour later, when both Ethan and Danny had taken their turn, freshened up and got dressed for school, they ambled into the living room. What greeted them was just the opposite of Ethan's room. The curtains were drawn, the room was dark, and the air seemed heavy. Danny stopped short, fearing he'd bump into furniture in the dark but Ethan with his heightened sight, meandered through the room and drew the curtains apart. On the sofa, lay Aiden, curled up in a ball, in thralls of a troubled sleep. The sight of his brother made his heart grow heavy. He bent down over the sofa and softly nudged Aiden awake.

Aiden sat up, rubbing his eyes, tiredly.

"Why didn't you go to your room?" Ethan asked softly, already knowing the answer.

"I did. But I couldn't sleep. The couch was… comfortable", Aiden replied.

Behind him, Ethan felt Danny walk up to them. Danny slid his fingers through Ethan's as if offering support. Ethan cleared his throat.

"It's the scent, isn't it?" Ethan asked.

Aiden nodded, crestfallen, "You can smell it too, right?"

Ethan sighed, nodding. It wasn't difficult to catch the scent. In fact, it was difficult not to! Jenna had been crashing on the couch while she was staying with them.

Ethan sat down beside his twin on the sofa; Danny perched on the coffee table, facing them.

"She's gonna be fine, you know!" Danny said, looking at Aiden. Aiden rolled his eyes. Ethan placed his hand on Aiden's shoulder, making his twin look at him.

"If there's anyone who is stubborn, obstinate and strong enough to survive this, it's her. You know, she'll probably do it out of spite! Or the pleasure of coming back here and proving that she's stronger than us", Ethan said, smiling at his own words.

In spite of himself, Aiden chuckled. Yes, it was true. Jenna had always been head strong and stubborn, yet, she also managed to be compassionate and understanding. How, neither of them knew. When they lost her, five years ago, they had had to build up their lives from scratch. They gave their utmost loyalty to Deucalion but the void always remained. They locked away their own kindness, their humanity and turned into monsters because it was easier. But with all that happened the past few days, the twins were back to square one.

When Ethan had woken up, he had been greeted by an anxious Danny and an agonized Aiden. Aiden had been grateful to have Ethan back. Initially, when Aiden had pulled Ethan into that bone crushing hug, he had thought that his twin was just happy to see him. It was only when he refused to let go and started crying, that Ethan realized something was seriously amiss. The next 2 days had been a blur of activity; relief, anger, guilt, all wrapped into one. Last night, Danny had finally managed to drag Ethan to his room and get him to sleep. Danny had convinced Aiden to do the same but he still ended up on the couch.

"From what little I know her, she strong. She'll make it", Danny said again, his voice, soothing. Aiden nodded, "I know, but…"

Ethan shook his head, "No. Don't. She's gonna be fine. There's a full moon in three days, she's going to be healed by then and she'll wolf out. She'll come out of the coma." Ethan rambled on, more to himself than to the others but Aiden still took comfort in his words.

He scratched his head, "Give me a few minutes, I'll get ready." Aiden tiredly padded out of the room. Ethan turned to Danny.

"He's not taking it well, is he," Danny said, his eyes on the passageway that Aiden disappeared into.

Ethan shrugged. "Neither of us is. The only difference is that, I have you to take care of me."

Danny turned his large eyes on Ethan and earnestly said, "She'll wolf out on full moon. You'll see. She'll be fine."

"I sure hope so", Ethan replied, sighing. Danny moved up beside Ethan and put an arm around his shoulder. Ethan smiled.

"You know, Jenna was Aiden's first love." Danny's eyes grew wide, a smile bringing out his adorable dimples.

"Really? They were together?" he asked.

"No. He never told her. And then, the fire happened. After that, we were a mess. He mourned her for 5 years. When she suddenly turned up…." Ethan shook his head, chuckling silently.

"So what's he doing with Lydia?" Danny asked, eyebrows knitted together.

"Well, they are not together. But he cares about her. Aiden likes Lydia, a lot. But I don't think he ever got over Jenna. I think he still loves her." Ethan shrugged. "I just hope everything works out on the full moon." Danny stood up and stretched.

"Look on the bright side," Danny said. Ethan looked up at him quizzically.

Danny rolled his eyes, smiling. "YOU"RE here! You're okay! And in three days time, so will Jenna, and Aiden. We're all okay! Frankly, a week ago, I didn't think it was possible", Danny said, animatedly. Ethan grinned, getting up and pulling Danny close to him.

Danny felt his heart melt as he looked into Ethan's eyes.

"You survived," he whispered again.

Ethan shook his head. "Mmhmm, we survived", he said, pulling Danny into a heartfelt kiss.

THE END

AN: so! what do you think? how did you like the story? Please do tell me, review! coz without reviews, I have nothing to go on!

PS: In case it wasn't clear, when Ethan says "we" he means Danny and himself as a couple. The real survivor of the story, being their relationship itself.