AN: Alright so I've been on the road to recovery after a brutal set of finals - so I have this gift here for you. Thank you once again to everyone who sent feedback - as always I appreciate the honesty and love that you all take the time to write me.

As always I don't own anything you recognize!

Enjoy!

~Voi

Theme 14: Nurturing

Rose opened her eyes to the colors of autumn, and though it was beautiful it did not make any sense. Had it not been summer just the morning past?

Still, the trees just outside her window were resplendent in their amber, scarlet and cocoa colors, and it was a sight that beckoned Rose outside to her balcony. And though it was cooler outside than she had expected, the feeling was not that of the chilled coldness that had seemed to very near yesterday.

Slowly raising a hand, she flexed it testingly, feeling the warmth of blood beneath her skin rather than penetrating iciness. Something had happened, but she was not yet sure of exactly what nature this change was.

"Lady Rose?"

A voice called her name, familiar in tone but foreign in emotional underpinning. Masculine, the voice soothed her, but not in the same way that Logan's voice seemed to resonate.

It felt as if yesterday had occurred many months ago.

Turning from her position outside, Rose found her ever faithful butler standing at the double doors of her room, his expression one of amazed excitement.

"Hello, Jasper."

Smiling brightly, Rose crossed the open space to give the older man a perky grin, her voice teasing as she asked "Why do you look so surprised to see me?"

"Well it has been quite a while…"

Jasper responded diplomatically.

"Quite a while?" Repeating his words, Rose cocked her head in confusion the smile still lingering across the corner of her lips, "But Jasper I've just gone to see you yesterday. I asked your opinion on that lovely green sun dress."

Smiling wider she patted his arm before going inside her room where the dressing mannequins were awaiting her choice. Jasper followed behind, quietly sputtering; though the impending decision between three beautiful lace confections made the young Queen temporarily allow his uneasy murmurs without comment.

Finally deciding on a deep mauve gown, Rose stepped behind the screen to wash and groom herself, frowning only slightly when her muscles ached in what felt like disuse.

Perhaps she had slept strangely in her bed?

The warm water eventually faded any discomfort, and by then Rose was too far gone enjoying her array of soaps and brushes to dwell on the thought.

It was a good long while before she left.

"Good morning, Logan."

Hours later, she appeared framed in the doorway, rosy with good health. And because no one had yet told him, Logan felt as if he was looking at a ghost.

Straightening with deliberate slowness, dark eyes swept her looking for a sign of malady, finding none. Hair lustrous as opposed to lank, skin tinged peach and pink from a fresh bath, she seemed the epitome of health.

Unable to help himself, he crossed the hall to reach her, finding her suddenly in his arms when she met him halfway, a winsome smile on her face.

"Are you alright?" She asked into his neck, "You look like you're going to faint, you're so pale."

Brushing her mouth against his in a chaste kiss, she grinned as he flushed at the unexpected contact. It was his one weakness, her brother had never been outwardly affectionate and he seemed unable to cope when someone else was.

"Hmm…You look much better now."

Patting him gently on the arm as she led them to the small breakfast table where a modest meal was laid out for one.

"You were going to eat without me?" Rose asked, feeling slightly hurt as she sat down on the loveseat, "We always eat together."

"We haven't eaten breakfast together in several months, Rose."

The words were startlingly rough, harsh almost, and she caught an underlying pain that he seemed incapable of hiding. Unable to look her in the eye, Logan

"What do you mean? We ate together just this past morning; at the manor…"

It dawned on her then that they were most certainly not at the summer home she had woken up to the morning previous. Floundering for words, it was not until Logan gently squeezed her hand with his gloved one that she realized she was clenching hands into fists.

"Several months you said?"

Her voice had gone quiet, scarcely more than a whisper, "I was asleep for that long? But then how did I…"

"I found Theresa." Logan's voice was cold as he turned dark eyes, "I made a deal with her."

Stricken, Rose turned to him, "You didn't. Oh Logan, tell me you kept away from her." Small hands pressed to his cheeks as she forced him to look at her, "What did you do?"

Ever composed, his blank expression reminded her too much of the look he had worn as King, and Rose felt her stomach twist in fear, for him.

"I believe, sister, the better question is what did you do?"

"What do you mean?" The words pushed past bloodless lips, a denial though he had not yet accused her of anything in particular.

"Theresa told me everything. That I died, that you bartered to have me brought back at great cost." The severity in his eyes nearly forced her to look away, "You were dying trying to keep us both alive."

Pulling away from her hold, Logan stood up, height more imposing as she kept seated.

"Why didn't you just let me die?" He asked bitterly, "Better than then you wasting away."

"Why didn't I let you die?" Rose repeated growing at once both angry and upset, "What sort of question is that?"

Pushing her tumble of curls from her face, she straightened her back, every inch the Queen.

"Do you really think to ask me that question, Logan? What when you have done the very same to wake me now?"

He froze, eyes narrowing.

"I heard you, when I was sleeping." She explained, "It was foggy, like when Theresa comes to visit me, but instead I heard your voice. I thought it a dream but…" Her lips pressed together in displeasure, "You are a hypocrite if you think to trade your life for favors like that."

Standing up, she was still dwarfed but her presence was considerable nonetheless.

"Don't think to lecture me on matters of the heart, Logan. If you do not understand why I saved you, then its best you learn quickly."

Gathering her skirts in her hands she turn heel and strode towards the stables, heedless of how impractical her gown was going to make riding.

"Where are you going?" Logan called after her.

Her answer was nearly drowned out by the sharp crash of the door.

"Out."

She found herself in Brightwall several hours later, sweat streaked but more clearheaded than she had been when she left. Physical exertion had always left her at peace, if just because it balanced out her otherwise magical ability and left her feeling balanced.

Dismounting from her horse, Rose paused just outside the hamlet. Sighing contently when she came to the picturesque home she had bought several years ago it was with a small smile that she knocked on the door.

Swing easily open on well-oiled hinges, the interior was confortable and luxurious though not the ostentatious décor of either the castle or Reaver's mansion home. Where money had been spent it had been put towards thick fabrics and sturdy bureaus. It was really only the stout fireplace stove, the very best money could afford, that gave any indication to the real wealth of this inner sanctum.

Pulling the cloak off her shoulders and hanging it on the appropriate hook, Rose went to the small kitchen, filling a small pot of water on the stove before she pulled the appropriate cup and saucer from a nearby cabinet.

Setting both articles on the counter, the young woman paused at the muted mumbling coming from the small bedroom just off the main living space. A look of tenderness passed over her face then, and she momentarily forgot the beginnings of her tea.

But just as her fingers touched the small painted door, a pair of hands settled around her waist, radiating a strength she felt mirrored in the warmth of his body against her back.

Closing her eyes, she could smell the familiar musk and linen. Exhaling softly, his breath whispered along the back of her neck, brushing the fine edge of her ear.

"I feel like you are continuously chasing after me," her lips quirked into a small smile as she turned her head, "Don't you ever stop, Logan?"

The severe expression on his face seemed to gentle, grow sad.

"Not when it appears I am the cause of you running away yet again."

Reaching up to brush the hair from his eyes, Rose noted the sweat on his brow the harshness of his breathing. Familiar and comforting despite his otherwise aloof nature…she looked into the clarity of his eyes and saw the same emotions buried there.

And that was when she realized how very strange it was, this relationship they had. Strange and yet desperately necessary, avoidable and yet too addictive to ignore.

She had known for years, suspected and yet done nothing.

Theresa had warned her, warned them both of the cost.

"Oh dear Avo…"

Rose had to stop looking at him, had to think to understand how she was feeling but it was impossible to look away. It had been months since she had last woken and emotion ran hot through her veins, burning through layers of control of self-made rules and fabrication.

There would be no turning back now, no redemption for what they both knew would happen.

And when at last they came together it was without rush, without thought, it merely was.

His lips were warm, dry, but startling soft as they brushed against her cheek, her neck, pressed softly to her mouth and gently parted. Rose flushed as she slowly opened her mouth, allowing him what he sought, her hands tightening on his shoulders.

Every feeling skittered across her spine, electrifying in a way she somehow knew she had imagined before. And everything burned, shouldering as she was borne anew into a body that no longer ran so impatiently towards death.

"Logan…"

Her soft whisper seemed to snap them both back, and Rose watched as realization dawned across her brother's face. Lips tender from his kisses, Rose couldn't help but press shaking fingers to the swollen tissue, surprised at the expression that swirled in his eyes though they were hidden a moment later as his lids shut in concentration.

"I…"

His voice seemed too loud in the stark silence of the room, booming though he seemed scarcely capable of a whisper. Swallowing, he shook his head.

"Rose…"

Unable to find even the right words to speak, Rose stood rooted to her place in the penetrating quiet.

"That shouldn't…"

And though she had indented to finish, in the open bedroom doorway appeared a small child with dark eyes and curly brown hair. Logan's eyes may have been closed, but the new voice was unmistakable in its affection, its confusion.

"Mummy, is that you?"