So, this is something I've been working on for a bit. I've been having a rough time for a while now and I think I'm in a good place now to take up this story again. I'm definitely not promising rapid updates. But I'm taking it slow with this fic. I hope you all will understand.
Next, I want to thank .Dawn for alerting me to a majorly embarrassing back-story Snafu. It's all fixed now!
Okay, enough with the heavy. (There's plenty of that in this chapter as it is.)
Disclaimer 1: There is a freaking amazing fic called 'Heat'. I want to assure everyone that I'm not copying the plot, though it did inspire me a bit to do something similar. By the way, that fic is newly adopted. You all need to go check it out! (Just as soon as you read this update!)
Disclaimer 2: I don't own PR in any way. I'm just playing around with the characters!
(This chapter comes with some M rated language.)
Several weeks went by and things really calmed down a lot.
Jimmy was now on his last week of mandatory healing and would most likely be cleared for regular training once Dr. Hawkins gave him a final exam. His bruising was gone and little by little, Casey was increasing the exercise he was required to do and their bond as Master and student was as strong as ever.
Dakota could definitely see the change. Her little brother was so happy now, happier then he'd been even before their parents died. He now joked with her often and she made time to heal their sibling relationship and get over the discomfort they'd had when she let that snake into their house.
Dakota broke out of her thoughts as she looked down at her baby bump. She had already begun to dress in loose fitting clothing bought for her by none other then Jada. Her morning sickness ceased and now it was only the minor back pain that bothered her now.
Jada had pushed her to her limits with the prenatal exercises and her state of mind had improved with the gentle and soothing yoga practices. Now the only thing that stood in her way was the fact that she was carrying the baby of the man who raped her.
She still did't know if she would keep it or give it up for adoption. For now, she would just let things unfold as they would. She gently rubbed the bump again.
Casey watched her from a distance as he and his student meditated under a nearby tree. She looked so beautiful when the sun hit her from behind like it was doing now. She looked luminous!
"You should go talk to her. My sister doesn't bite." Jimmy said breaking out into his thoughts.
The tiger master turned slowly to his student. "Shouldn't you be meditating?"
Jimmy shrugged." Yeah, but its hard to concentrate when you're staring at my sister. It's very distracting."
Casey smirked. "Then you obviously need more work in your meditation skills."
Despite his bravado, Casey was finding it harder and harder to ignore the beautiful female...woman that was Dakota. He never forgot the conversation that had occurred all those weeks ago...and even more impossible was it to forget the first time she'd strolled through the door.
It had been the bi annual sign up day. It was a chance for the parents to meet the teachers and the event would also include a few mini demonstrations of the curriculum that the kids would be learning. It was just after those demonstrations that the beautiful young woman strode up to his table with her brother standing next to her.
She seemed to almost float, and her beautify was nearly overwhelming...not that he could ever tell her that, he had to maintain a professional demenor. He was a Pai-Zhug student that would soon be a master, not an animal that would just mount a female and have his way with her...
"Hey, my name is Dakota. This his my brother Jimmy and I'd like to sign him up for the Kung-Fu classes...hey are you okay?"
Casey had been immediately overwhelmed by her scent, which to anyone else would be undetectable. To the tiger, it was succulent ambrosia...something he had to have. That was what had made him zone out.
At her question he blinked and shook his head, and did what he could to recover his dignity.
"Oh, I am so sorry for that lapse. Now, has he ever been in a martial arts class before?"
All through that 5 minute conversation he'd tried very hard to keep himself on track and focused, though with her scent engulfing him, it was all he could do to not jump over the table and pin her against the wall.
At that memory, the tiger within woke up and began pacing it's cage. He could see it in his minds eye as he tried hard to mediate, the tiger had first woken up that day and made him take notice. He'd forced it back in it's cage with dedication and constant discipline, but now as he looked once more upon the beautiful woman, the tiger got up and started pacing in his cage.
As she sat before Jada in her meditation pose, Casey found he couldn't tear his eyes from her, even as she sat with her back to him. His eyes roamed over her back to her neck and finally down her shapley backside. He growled softly to himself,
"Ewww! Do you mind?"
Casey snapped out of it and blushed. The boy sitting next to him looked disgusted. The tiger master gave his student a funny look. "Not even 5 minutes ago, you were telling me to go talk to her and now you object to me looking at her? I'm getting whiplash here, kid."
"You were drooling! And you growled...it's so...wierd; your face was all...wild and stuff."
Casey sighed and rubbed his eyes. He took a deep breath and forced the tiger back and locked the cage door...and then sighed when it didn't stop pacing. At least it was under control again.
When he was himself again, he gave his student a look. "Either go back to meditating or we can take up the mile run again. Your choice."
Though he didn't know it, across the way Dakota was trying her damnedest to concentrate on the meditation methods she'd learned from Jada. Centering herself and taking calm relaxing breaths was not only good for her, but for the baby she carried. Doing so would soon carry over into her labor breathing, when she finally gave birth.
She was going to give birth.
How had she come to this? She should have stayed away from men all together, should have focused on taking care of her brother, keeping house, and making sure the bills were payed and not trying to satisfy the needs of her heart. That's what an adult would do.
That's what she had to do. Her search for love had gotten her knocked up, carrying a child she couldn't keep. No, she wouldn't kill it, but she damn sure wasn't keeping it. She was a failure as a nurturer and as a care giver, she couldn't keep her own brother safe, what made her think she could care for a baby?
"Kota!" Jada snapped. She jumped instantly at the sharp voice and opened her eyes.
"What?" Instantly her hand went to her belly. Was there an attack somewhere? Was her baby in danger?
"I can feel the self hatred and loathing rolling off of you, and it's going to stop now. We've been over this!"
Jada got in her face. "You've got to let it go. None of us are perfect, I fell for the same asshole as you did...he screwed things up for both of us. Because of him I landed in that god-awful asylum, rolling in my own filth! I allowed him to kill my baby!"
"But that wasn't your fault! He raped you and took away your choice! It's not your fault!" As she said this, she inhaled deeply and let out a very loud growl.
Jada smiled at her outburst. "Exactly."
Dakota was taken back and then she looked down in confusion to she she'd pushed herself up onto her hands and knees, with her back very tense. She blushed and sat back down.
"What just happened? I don't understand."
"You were having a moment, the wild cat in you came out when you thought you were in danger. It's the same sort of thing that happened to me when I was carrying...even though that didn't last long. I only got through my third month, and I was just starting to show, much like you are. It was just about that time that...he found out. He tried to come at me and my wild cat came out at him and I growled in anger.
"You're protecting yourself and the cub you carry. It only shows proof of how strong you are...it's a mothering trait."
"I'm not a mother! I can't be trusted!"
Jada growled softly in warning. "Don't you dare start degrading yourself, Dakota. I won't have it."
"It's too late for that, don't you think. I can't degrade myself much worse then what I already have."
"You're human and made a mistake. You learned from it and now you need to let it go...weather you decide to give the baby up or raise it yourself, there are still 6 months to get through...the life of that baby inside you is directly linked with yours. It's even more so with someone who's awakened their animal spirit. You get pissy and agitated, and your baby will be too. You've got a while to go before it's born, and that's a whole lot of nights to get through. So unless you want to spend every night miserable, you need to settle all of this now so you can focus on your futures."
"I don't have a future! That's just it! I can't go back to the life I had before. By the time Jimmy's an adult my body will beyond it's prime and ugly. Because I fucked up, I've lost my chances at a future.
"There is more then one path to happiness. Just because you've lost your shot at entering Juliard doesn't mean you your life is ruined. Theo taught me that, and its a lesson you need to learn too."
"Well, I don't know if you've figured it out yet, Miss all knowing, but I don't have a 'Theo'."
Jada smirked. "No, but you sure have a Casey." In a softer voice, she added. Don't look now, but he's been staring at your for the last 5 minutes."
Dakota shook her head. "No, that's not possible. I may have had a shot at one time, but it's long gone now. It won't take long before I put on more weight. What man would want that?"
Jade grinned as Theo came into her line of sight. "You'd be surprised. I see in the eyes of that tiger, the same hunger and desire that my mate has for me. Once it's unleashed, you may find yourself stalked by him...and when the time comes for him to make his move, you won't know what hit you."
Dakota scoffed. "We'll just see about that."
Jada only smirked as she rose to her feet. "That's what I said." She walked into Theo's arms and met his lips.
Just seeing them make out caused a flicker of need and desire within Dakota and she got to her feet in a huff and walked away.
Casey watched her walk away and the wind shifted, causing her scent to float towards him. He wanted to growl again, but he swallowed it and looked away.
Casey sat on his meditation mat that night. He'd dismissed Jimmy to go to his sister's quarters, where he'd taken to sleeping every night. It was good for their bond, to spend time together.
More importantly, it gave him time to figure out just what the hell was wrong with himself. He'd never ever felt so wild, so out of control. All day he'd kept his tiger spirit under tight control, and now as he quieted his inner voice and cleared his mind, he began to explore his feelings.
No woman before Dakota had roused his animal spirit. He'd never been on a date, even Lily, whom he'd had the crush on before hadn't even had such an effect on him. And yet Dakota did.
But why?
Casey spent many more minutes trying to answer that question for himself, but alas, he came up with nothing. Not a single explanation for why he felt so untamed, why he wanted so badly to be with her. To mate with her.
Wait, what? His eyes snapped open. Mate? Where the hell had that come from?
Casey shook his head to clear it of such thoughts. Mating was the last thing she needed, hell, wasn't that what had gotten her in the fix she was now? No, Casey was certain that any advances he'd make wouldn't be welcomed by her.
And it was most definitely not how a Pai Zhug master should act.
Definitely not. I mean what would it look like for master Finn to...ugh no, that's just gross. No, I'm not an animal and the last thing Dakota needs is another male invading her personal space...invading...
with that word, an image rose up in his minds eye. It was provocative and arousing at the same time. Dakota was pressed up against the wall, and she was panting as he...
Casey growled and shook his head trying to clear his head of the...image. His eyes flew open and he looked down at his lap.
"Oh great...that's just nice." he grumbled noticing that his body seemed to enjoy the unbidden mental image. "Wonderful." He sighed and got up, heading for his private bathroom. He really did hoped this infatuation wouldn't last much longer, and he really wasn't overly fond of the baggy pants.
Once he'd taken care of his business. He crawled into bed and closed his eyes.
"Jimmy, we've been over this. The last thing I need is another man in my life. I don't think either of us need another reminder of what a mistake that was." Dakota said as she subconsciously rubbed her belly. She'd been pacing for the last few minutes.
Her younger brother sat cross legged on his bed across from her. "OK, so letting that loser into the house was a bad idea. But he's gone now! Dead as a door nail, dust in the wind. I've already forgiven you for all of that, and I'm totally over it. I wish you'd be too. He's not worth it."
Dakota paused to look at him. "That's easy for you to say, your not the one carrying around his baby. Hello, it's a constant reminder of my screw up. I got lonely, so I settled for the first cute dude I saw, and because of that, you got hurt, and I got knocked up."
When she saw her brother open his mouth, she added, "I'm sure Casey's a nice guy, but the last thing I need is another boyfriend. So can we just drop it?"
Jimmy sighed and got up from his bed. Then he did something he'd not really done very often, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "Only if you stop punishing yourself. It's not good for you or the baby."
Dakota looked down at him, speechless.
"Why do you care so much about it?"
"Because it's part you. Mom said that it takes two to tango. Sure, that jerk had a part in it, but so did you. The baby is only half of him. The other half is you. And that's the why I care. Who knows? Maybe the baby will turn out to be good, like you."
Dakota smiled down at her brother. "When did you become so wise?"
"When I started learning Kung Fu with Master Casey. He's pretty smart too. He's taught me so much about my tiger spirit. And I meant what I said earlier. The baby is inside you, so if you get stressed, then the baby will be too."
"So, you're telling me to chill out, huh?"
Jimmy grinned up at her. "Yeah. You gotta learn to relax."
"Ok, I will, and I'm gonna start by going to sleep. You should too."
Dakota, lay in her bed and sighed again, rubbing her belly. She spent a few more minutes and then began a breathing exercise that Jade had shown her and she was asleep soon after.
Casey the tiger prowled through the jungle. Above him the bright moon shone down as he walked through the tall grasses. He loved the feel of his surroundings; all was peaceful. He stalked the ground sniffing out everything, and then an hypnotic scent wafted towards him.
He growled softly and followed it to it's source. There in front of him was a beautiful female, sleeping on a soft bed of grass. Her tail flicked backwards and forward, and she made soft noises which sounded like the most beautiful music to him.
He growled softly again as he sat down on his haunches, unable to keep his eyes from her beautiful form. Sure, she was out of his species, but she was gorgeous, his eyes took in everything from her beautiful striped coat to the way her face looked so relaxed in slumber.
He was careful to keep his distance as he laid down in front of her, and kept watch, lest some other male dare to approach his mate.
Jimmy was just about to fall asleep when his eyes caught sight of a ghostly form that had walked through the door. He quietly maneuvered so that he could get a better view...and his eyes widened when he realized that a ethereal tiger was in the room with them.
While anyone else would have freaked out he didn't. His own tiger spirit seemed to recognize this spirit and calmed down instantly.
In the darkness, he smiled. It was only a matter of time...
So now, it's your turn to leave a review...let me know what you think, (without flaming me)
Catch ya on the flip side!
Catch you on the flip side!