Thank you all for reading and reviewing.

This is the shortest chapter yet, but it ended itself where it did.

Enjoy!

Chapter 11

Healing Touch

The shrill ring of the emergency alarm woke Anna in the early hours of the morning. She stepped out into the corridor to find agents rushing up and down. She saw Red and Abe pass her, with Red loading his gun and Abe putting on his breathing equipment.

Liz wasn't far behind and was also loading her gun.

"What's happening?" asked Anna.

"There's been another Troll sighting. They seem to be getting more confident, or careless. Or perhaps both. You don't have to wait up," Liz replied.

Anna nodded as Liz continued up the corridor, but she wasn't about to go back to sleep with the team out on a mission.

Nuada was the last to come down the corridor and was busy placing his weapons on his back. He nodded and smiled at Anna as he passed, and Anna wanted to tell him to be careful, but couldn't quite make the words come out.

She watched him disappear, and then got a blanket from her room. She went to wait in the library by the fire, and took out the Tennyson book Nuada had been reading to her. She tried not to think about the team. It worried her that they might get hurt. Especially Nuada. She had managed to heal him last time, but would she be able to do it again? She hoped it wouldn't come to that. He was more than capable of defending himself, but Nuada and Red seemed to get in each other's way.

It had been exciting watching them fight, even though Nuada had lost. It had been amusing watching Red become angry at Nuada's speed and dexterity. She wondered if they were going to make their sparring matches a regular thing. She didn't believe that Nuada would allow Red to beat him without a rematch. If they did, Anna would make sure she kept as quiet as possible.

After only an hour, Anna had fallen asleep in front of the fire. She was having a very curious dream about Nuada's chest. He was covered in small cuts, and was bleeding quite badly. She couldn't see his face or any other part of him, and all around them was dark. All she could see was his pale and beautifully sculpted chest, and it needed healing.

She saw herself gently press her lips to the first cut, drops of golden blood staining her mouth and chin. The blood was sweet tasting and warm. She could feel the softness of his skin under her lips. He wasn't touching her, nor was she touching him. She closed her eyes as her lips began to glow in a soft green light and the cut began to heal. Soon, all that was left was flawless skin.

She turned her attention to the other cuts and did the same, kissing each wound away until he was completely healed, with not a blemish in sight. She looked up into his face and saw him smiling down at her. The fondness in his eyes made her smile back.

She awoke suddenly when the door burst open and the team came in. Once again, Nuada and Red were arguing as they strode in. It seemed they had gotten under each other's feet again, and Nuada had been the one injured. This time it was his arm. His shirt was torn badly. Parts of it were hanging off his arm, so he took it of completely and threw it at Red's feet.

"Oh come on! You're not gonna blame me for this one, are you?" Red exclaimed as Nuada glared at him.

"And just whose bullet did I have to dodge again?" Nuada shouted.

"It took two of us to take that thing down. They're getting stronger."

"I am aware of that. But, you could have waited until I moved out of the way, or at least, asked me to move!" Nuada said, gritting his teeth to keep from shouting more.

"Stop whining, it's just a scratch," Red said as he turned to leave.

Nuada closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He looked down at his wound and winced. It wasn't bad, but it stung.

Seeing his wound brought about the same compulsion as the last time. She slowly got up, looking only at his injured arm as she walked towards him.

Nuada could see her coming nearer to him. Her eyes were glazed over, and see seemed to be drawn by his wound.

She outstretched her hands when she got within a few feet, and gently placed them on his arm. She could feel the warmth of his blood under her fingers.

Nuada watched as her hands glowed the same vibrant green as they had before, and her eyes became more vivid in colour. The same pleasant warmth enveloped his arm and he could feel his skin heal. It didn't take long for it to heal completely, and he was left with goose bumps in the wounds place. He went o place a hand over hers, but she seemed to come to her senses, and pulled her hands sharply off him, taking a few steps back and covering her hands with her sleeves.

"Thank you. Again," said Nuada softly.

"It's nothing," she whispered.

Anna looked up at him and smiled. But she suddenly started to feel dizzy and swayed slightly on her feet. Nuada took a few steps towards her in case she fainted.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Tired," she whispered.

She swayed again, her knees bending under her. Nuada caught her by the arms and tried to keep her on her feet, but she was swaying too much for her to stand up so he picked her up.

Anna wanted to protest, but in her extremely tired state, she wouldn't have been able to get herself to her room to rest. As it was, all she could do was keep her skin away from his, so she didn't place her hands around him. It was awkward, but Nuada said nothing.

He took her straight to her room and put her down on her feet, but she was still swaying so he held her around the waist as she punched in her code, swinging her back into his arms as the door swung open. He took her straight inside and put her in the bed, making sure to cover her with the quilt.

"Thank you," she whispered as she tried to focus on his face.

"You are tired. Rest now," Nuada replied.

He smiled down at her for a moment, then left, closing the door behind him.

Anna had little strength in her to think about what had happened. She fell into a deep sleep, dreaming the same dream as she had before.

A/N: Aww! He can be such a gentleman! What did you all think?