Chapter Info
Title: Trouble in your kiss.
Number: 22/?
Warnings: Language, mentions of violence, and my usual doses of angst here and there.
Author's Note: So again, I am sorry this update took so long. Wild hearts, kinda took over my life. And yeah no excuses. I suck, I'm sorry. But I hope this chapter once again makes up for my lack of posting.
- ʚɞ -
- La Push, Washington -
- Noelle -
There was nothing scarier in the world than holding someone's life in your hands and Noelle wasn't sure if it was a feeling that would ever go away. No matter how hard she had trained in the ER, no matter how much she went through the same routines day in and day out. Being the only tether between someone living and dying, it would forever rock her down to the foundations of her soul.
Even as she stood in the operating room, watching and observing as Daryl worked so efficiently, she couldn't be truly sure if this was something she'd ever forget. Between them and Sue they moved like a well-oiled machine as both of them took Daryl's orders and helped the patient beneath them. If an outsider was to look at the scene they would think they'd done this a thousand times.
But they'd miss the important details.
Like how Noelle's hands were shaking slightly as she handed over the instruments that Daryl asked for, or alternated with Sue on cleaning up the blood that trickled from the wounds. They'd miss how Sue's voice shook with fear and trepidation showing the softness that resided underneath the hard mask she wore as a council member. A mask she wore as the mother of wolves. They'd also miss the way Daryl's features contorted in stress and worry as he fought against time to save the patient.
The details were small, barely-there in the larger scope of things. And yet she saw them all. Watched it all play out like a distorted movie for her eyes only. Her mind torn between what was happening below her and constantly replaying the scene in the forest over and over.
What had started as an innocent bonfire, had turned into something Noelle had never imagined it could. She found herself wondering what would have happened if she and Daryl hadn't attended, would the man still be dying in the woods. Or would the pack have gotten him to Sue in time? Questions she shouldn't have been thinking about at such a time bounced around in her head and left her feeling light-headed.
As a nurse she was taught to identify everything, to never miss an injury or a flicker of behaviour. Yet right now she wished she could, wished with all her might that she could erase the images churning inside of her mind.
She's luckily freed from her thoughts as she hears the words she didn't realise she was waiting for - the words that they were finished. Her hazel eyes drift to the heart monitor and a sigh of peace echoes off her lips as she sees the stable beat of the male's heart. A sign that he was okay, that he would survive. For right now at least, but she didn't want to think about. He was okay and that was all that mattered.
She refused to think about the fact that they could still lose him. Death danced in everyone's shadow, it was something she'd learnt as a child, but she prayed that they'd gone and chased it away this time.
She shifts to the side as Sue steps forward to help Daryl close the wound, her attention now completely drawn by the elder woman as she sets to work on something that Noelle could clearly see she'd done more than she had. At that moment the age and experience of the two nurses were as plain as night and day. Yet she had no bitterness over that fact, instead, she just had a happy acceptance that at least someone better trained was doing such a mundane but needed task.
Walking out the operating room and disposing of her bloodstained clothing she mandirs through the routine of cleaning off her skin before escaping the sterile room and the feeling of the walls closing in on her. The heat of the corridor slamming into her as she collapses against the wall just to the left of the door. The adrenaline from both the rescue and the operation bleeding from her and leaving nothing but a tired husk in its place. Her stomach threatening to revolt as her mind once more tortures her.
She barely catches herself as her knees buckle beneath her causing her body to drag harshly down the wall and her frame to hit the floor with a loud smack. Rearranging her tangled limbs she tucks her knees into her chest and rests her forehead against them. Her breath drags across her teeth harshly as she fights to stave off the panic that was threatening to consume her whole.
During the whole rescue and operation, she'd managed to ignore one glaringly obvious fact - of how close the attacker had come. The number of bodies that had been at the bonfire, both pack and regular members of the tribe meant that the unknown male could have easily been someone she knew. It could have easily been her and that fact was what made her panic.
Was the man a part of some twisted game of hide and seek, or was the attacker sending a message? Using a near-dead guy - an innocent bystander - to do it. To say she was scared was a huge fucking understatement, no matter how she tried, she couldn't put on the act that she was okay. That she was strong, as one quick remembrance of the scene she and Daryl found left her once more feeling as fearful as a child in the dark.
" Ellie ? "
Her name brings her head up to level on her brother, tears dancing across her face she hadn't even been aware had fallen till that moment. A second barely ticks by before she feels his heated arms wrap around her, cocooning her in a hold of safety and she finally let's go of everything she'd been holding back. There in her brother's arms, she lets the panic grip her and force strangled sobs to rip their way out of her clogged throat.
Sam's arms only tighten around her further as she rests against his chest, beneath her ear she can feel his heart beating in a soothing tempo but it does nothing against the rage of pain that was lashing its way through her body. She wasn't sure what she was crying for, the man, the panic or was it the last dregs of her adrenaline leaving her.
" I'm scared, big brother. "
Her whisper was silent but Sam hears her anyway, his body growing rigid beneath her as his arms subconsciously tighten across her shoulders. His sigh dancing across the crown of her head as he decides to stay silent, for what could he truly say. He couldn't tell her she was safe, as no one was right now. And the body was just further indication of that. Whilst yes she did feel safe with the pack around, she also didn't at the same time. It was a precarious position to be in and yet it was the one she was stuck in.
The two Uley's drift into a reluctant silence as they sit there, time ticking against them as Noelle fights to contain her tears and Sam did the best he could to hold her together. A shitty outcome for both involved.
She wasn't sure of how much time had passed, Instead, she focused on what she did, now aware that the tears had dried against her cheeks. leaving behind the feeling of cotton wool stuffed inside her head and burning around her eyes. Her throat felt dry and raw from the sobs that had ripped it apart.
" What happens now ? " she asks reluctantly, her head shifting so she could raise her gaze to Sam's.
His eyes pop open as his head falls forward from the relaxed lean he had against the wall. " We hunt. "
A shiver trails down her spine at the lazy and feral way in which her brother spoke those two simple words. In any other situation, they would seem odd but in the one before them, it was perfectly placed. Yet it did nothing to stop the widening of her eyes or the way she seemed to pull away from him a little. Her eyes shifting across the plains of his face as though looking for any sign he was joking.
There weren't any.
Swallowing loudly she nods as she settles back into her previous position, pearl white teeth dragging her lip between them as she bites down harsh enough to cause blood. She had thought she had come to terms with the fact her brother and her friends were wolves. But with two words, she was once again shown that she still didn't understand it all, or was still blind to what it meant for them.
A threat had come onto their land, near their families leaving only one solution of how to deal with it.
" How ? " her lips form the words before her mind catches up. Her breath stutters in her chest as she waits to see if he'd answer her or not.
She was still learning her place in the pack hierarchy, she was an imprint as well as the alpha's sister. Though she wasn't exactly sure of what it truly meant, of the weight she carried or if that meant she would stay just as blind as the others. Would her brother go against his promise to never lie to her again if it was for the betterment of the pack? The sides of brother and alpha now becoming a constant battle within him.
Sam's rich sigh drags her back to the situation at hand and out of her musings " I'm not sure. "
She could feel the weight her brother carried, his words so confidant in their deliverance, but beneath that bravado lived a beast known as self-doubt. It was so minute she was sure she missed it but she knew her brother, knew him better than most that lived inside his head and right now he was doubting himself.
" You'll figure it out. " She soothes softly. Leaning up, her lips press gently against his cheek before her head returns to resting on his shoulder. " Do you need anything of me and Daryl ? "
She wasn't asking as a sister, she was asking as members of her brother's pack and whatever he needed from her. Whatever she needed to do to ease the stress that had settled itself like iron bars on his shoulders - she'd do it.
" Can the two of you stay here on the rez ? " he asks, an air of reluctance wrapping around each syllable. " It's just, Paul is my best front line and Leah's one of our fastest. And right now I need them, and if they're worried about you two – "
" Consider it done, " she utters the words quickly cutting off her brothers as she shifts out of his arms so that she could face him. " I'll see if mom will let us stay with her. We'll use the excuse we're needed down here due to the accidents still happening. I'm sure Carlisle will cover for us. "
It didn't escape her notice that she was putting a lot of faith in a leech but at this moment she prayed the vampire truly understood the pack mechanics and would help Noelle and Daryl fit within that world. Yes, there was still a lot that Daryl needed to know, but right now, it wasn't about either of them. It was the betterment of the tribe and the innocent people being hurt.
" What about the girl, Ellie ? " she asks softly. " I don't trust her alone in Forks. "
It had nothing to do with the fact she could potentially be adopting her, all she could think was that without her stream of bodyguards protecting the hospital. The little girl would now be left unattended. And that just left a cold feeling inside of Noelle's heart.
" See if Sue can get her moved down here. I don't want her left alone either."
The look in her brother's eyes told her he knew about the potential adoption, and like she'd eased his worries, he was now trying to do the same in return. A grateful smile hitches up her lips before she stands. Her hand reaches out to help him to his feet though she's sure he does most of it by himself. After all, moving him would be like moving a mountain and she sure as shit wasn't that strong.
Once her brother congeals back to his full height she wraps her arms around him in a hug, soaking up as much of his heat and strength as she could. Begrudgingly pulling apart she smiles softly before turning and heads off to find both Daryl and Sue to apologise leaving as she did.
She finds them sequestered in the staff room and injects herself into the conversation with liquid ease and soon the three of them begin to set up a care routine for the male, who they still didn't know the name of, as well as a system that would help him recover from the attack. He would forever be scarred, even Sue's neat stitches couldn't erase that, but he would live.
Even Noelle would take the scars over dying if she was in his position.
As the conversation lulls towards silence, she sighs softly before bringing up the one with her brother. Her eyes set firmly on Daryl as she explains how her brother wanted them in La Push where he knew they were safe. Understanding and confusion settling in his gaze before he too agreed to do just that. His fingers reaching for his phone to make the call that would chain them both to the reservation for the foreseeable future.
She watches Sue as Daryl talks and could see the elder woman already accepting her daughter's imprint with ease. Not just because it was Leah's destiny, but because of the man he was and how understanding his nature was. She was looking at him like a mother that was happy with the outcome of her daughter's life and could finally breathe easy. And as Sue catches her looking, the two share a private smirk over that fact. Daryl was going to have his hands full with Leah, but he was the perfect man for the job.
Excusing herself she begins to walk the corridors, her body thrumming with unspent energy and the sheer need to do something. Sitting around had never been her forte and despite having none of the adrenaline from earlier, she still needed to move.
A heated hand settles on her shoulder and she jumps from the contact, her head spinning wildly to the side, her heart racing ahead of her breathing as she looks at Paul. his hands raised in surrender as she curses softly, her hand raising to settle against her chest as though she could calm the now erratic beating.
" Announce yourself Fido, I don't fancy a heart attack before I'm twenty-five."
His honey bass chuckle washes over her and her hand shoots out to hit against his stomach lightly, highly aware that anything harder would once more leave her with a broken hand.
His eyes smoulder with mirth as his laughter dies down to soft chuckles, his gaze locked firmly on hers. " I'll make sure to remember that for future reference. "
" Please do or you're in the doghouse for the foreseeable future. "
Okay so apparently she was back to making dog jokes. Her head shook softly as she fought to control the laughter that wanted to break free of her chest. Yet she wasn't sure if she could stop once she started and she'd already cried once tonight, she didn't need to start laughing like an insane person.
" You okay Elle ? "
His soft bass grounds her and she nods softly as he steps forward, his muscular arm settling over her shoulders and once more she finds herself trapped within a heated hug. Yet where her brothers had been the comforting embrace of a sibling, Paul's felt like a lifeline amid the storm her life was now. Her head rested against his heat as it burned into her skin and chased away the chills that lingered behind.
" No. But we gotta get up and carry on, right ? "
A small voice in the back of her head questioned if she'd ever be okay again or was this her life now, was she to forever be waiting and anticipating when a supernatural creature was going to attack. Forever worrying about everyone she cared about and trying to breathe and survive in the middle of it all.
The simple answer - no. She would never be okay again, because this was her life whether she liked it or not. And that was her future as the imprint of a wolf, friend to many and the sister of another.
" I'm sorry Elle. " his words washed over her hair in a sigh and she frowns in confusion.
" For what ? " she asks, tilting her head to look at him. " This isn't your fault Paul. And before you say you brought me into this life. You didn't, fate did and whilst yes she is a bitch. This is my life, this is your life and we will figure it all out. Even if we stumble, we will make it work. "
She pulls away from him so she could look at his face, his hands coming to settle against her hips and she's highly aware of the way they mould against her so easily. As though they were made to settle there, his heat soaking through her borrowed scrubs and setting fire to her very veins. But she was trying not to focus on that - even if it was difficult - and instead stay routed on their current conversation.
" Elle – "
Shaking her head she leans up on her tiptoes, her lips pressing against his as her hands come to hook behind his neck. Every word she couldn't say was being whispered through her skin and all she could do was hope he interpreted them the way she wanted.
Yes she had said she wanted to be friends, and that was something they really needed to work on but right now she had one job and that was to make him stop worrying about her and focus on the hunt they had to go on. Every one of her instincts told her that was what she was to do, and whether it was fate or intuition. She wasn't about to ignore it.
She gasps as she pulls away, her eyes locking with his obsidian ones that were swimming in love. Love for her and it almost chokes her with its intensity and yet, she wanted to drown. She wanted to relive what it was to be loved by him.
" Right now you need to focus solely on finding that wayward corpse and I need to focus on staying put on the reservation and being a good little girl. "
His lips hitch into a decadent smirk and she really wanted to kiss him again. " Do you know how to behave ? "
" Oh darling, you have no idea. " She returns his jest with one of her own and is glad when she sees the worry from before slip out of his eyes.
She could feel her feet moving, the wall pressing against her back drawing a soft gasp from her lips as she stands pressed between the unyielding wall and the heated expanse of Paul.
" I thought you said we were friends ? "
She didn't blame him for his question, it was valid after all. " I did – "
His eyebrow hitches as the opposite side of his lips curls into a smirk, a whimper escaping her lips at the sight before she could contain it. Yet before she could speak, think or even plan to do anything his lips are pressed against hers one more. This kiss is far more heated than the other and her body bows beneath him willingly.
His mere touch was kerosene to gasoline as she burned right there in his arms, burned with desire and the sheer need to be close. To feel him beneath her.
As he pulls away, his lips ghosting down across her jaw before leaving her skin completely she takes a moment to right herself. Her breathing becomes easier as he takes a step back giving her space and the room to organise her thoughts. Her cheeks flush with heat as her eyes open and lock on his.
" I gotta say, baby, I love your version of friends. "
Her mouth drops open as he winks before turning and strolling down the corridor as though he hadn't just thoroughly kissed all common sense right out of her mind. She gaped after him and knew at that moment, she was screwed.
She was once more in his trap and just like when she was younger, she'd walked into it willingly.
- ʚɞ -
A / N : Reviews are love and highly appreciated- So, Noelle kinda went against her own words and broke the 'friend' lockdown. Or did she?. I mean, when it comes to imprints, nothing's clear right?