I know this next chapter might be more like filler, but i believe it's important to address the unasked question about whether or not what Mr. Err did had done damage to Tecna's magic. Plus, all the lovey-dovey stuff is just me playing out my fantasies.
Chapter Thirteen: Devotion
As Tecna drifted back into consciousness, she could feel a soft hand against her cheek. Without thinking, she reached out for the hand, rubbing her cheek in its palm. She dared not open her eyes, and wanted to remain in this state of pure bliss forever. More alertness overcame her, and she moaned slightly in resistance before turning to her side and burying her head in the pillow. She fought so hard not to want to wake up, and the hand from before aided in her resistance by wrapping the duvet around her shoulders again. She knew with absolute certainty who the hand belonged to, and with that intuition, she felt safe. After more moments of alertness, Tecna knew she wasn't going to drift off again, and finally opened her teal eyes. Just as expected, the face of her hero blurred into focus, and he smiled down at her warmly.
"Hey." Timmy said softly, and she moaned again in response, "How do you feel now?"
"Okay, I guess." Tecna answered groggily, not even wanting to leave the warmth of her bed or the peaceful comfort of Timmy's contact.
"I just want to do some basic magic tests." He continued, "I'm not sure if the electric exposure could've done damage to your powers." So, Tecna begrudgingly sat up in bed and waited for instructions.
"Okay, I just want you to form a small magic orb in your hand." He told her, and she put out her hand, concentrating on conjuring up some of her magic. Timmy watched, eyes watching the orb slowly emerge from Tecna's palm. "Now release." And then, Tecna let it vanish without difficulty. With this reassurance, Timmy exhaled deeply in relief.
"So, what do you think?" Tecna asked, "How is my magic?" It took Timmy a few moments to think about his response, and his relief soon turned into concern as time went on.
"I… I don't know." Timmy admitted with worry evident in his voice, "I think it might be better to take you in for some magic stability testing, just to be absolutely sure. But we have to make up a story explaining what happened, I don't want anyone finding out that I was the one who did this to you. It's absolutely killing me that I risked your life like that and if I had caused permanent damage… I could never forgive myself." With those words, Tecna's heart began to race again, and she remembered what Timmy had told her the night before. It meant that she loved him, and she knew that his devotion to rectifying his mistakes meant he loved her just as much. She was still pretty weak, but with all the strength she had in her, she wrapped her arms around Timmy's neck and kissed him passionately. Tecna half expected him to be surprised and recoil, as if the events of the previous night had all been in her head. However, the kiss was reciprocated with equal, if not more passion.
"I've never felt this way before, I never knew what it's like to have someone care so much about me." She whispered in a breathless voice when their lips parted. This confession reminded Timmy what part of loving Tecna made him a broken man. The whole reason he had met her in the first place was to get her to live a life she deserved, free of harm and full of endless opportunity. Timmy stared into her teal eyes for a moment before pulling her into a tight embrace that surprised her.
"You don't have to worry about anything anymore, Tecna. I will find Mr. Err even if I have to fight him on my own. You won't be safe until he is dead. I'll make sure he doesn't touch you." Just the reminder of what Tecna's life was like before meeting him, how she may have tried several times to commit suicide, and her sacrifice to the Omega portal… She was convinced she was worth nothing, a disgrace of a fairy who couldn't do anything right. And it was all because of that man. Without thinking, he began playing with her hair as she sighed softly, She wasn't sure what was on his mind, but she had an idea. Once Timmy had gathered his composure, he gave Tecna the leftover fruit parfait from the previous night. After he had sung Tecna to sleep, he had put it in the mini fridge that she had in her suite. When Tecna was finished her breakfast, Timmy helped her get ready before escorting her to Alfea's medical area.
As the couple reached the infirmary, an office for minor medical and health issues, Timmy took a deep, nervous breath.
"Just follow my lead," He told Tecna quietly, "I just hope what happened didn't cause any damage." Then, he opened the door as the nurse lifted her gaze to address them.
"Timmy, Tecna? What brings you here?" She asked.
"Something scary happened last night, I was just letting Tecna use my laptop to look something up when suddenly electricity started shooting out of it and climbing up her arm. I tried to pull her away in time, but the electricity shot her across the room. I was in too much of a panic to know what to do and now I'm afraid it might have done damage to her magic." Timmy explained with anxiety filling every word as he spoke.
"You should've informed Mrs. Faragonda immediately when it happened." The nurse said. It wasn't to scold Timmy, but she shook her head in concern. "No matter, I can do some advanced magic stability tests and let you know the results. It should only take a few hours. Just wait out here." And so, the nurse took Tecna from Timmy's arms, noticing how unsteady on her feet she still was.
It took about forty-five minutes for the testing, and approximately an hour to process the results. During this time, Timmy paced the waiting room anxiously, and the nurse had not returned with Tecna yet. Timmy had answered a couple questions about what he had done to try to help Tecna the night before. The nurse had told Timmy that she would keep an eye on Tecna until the results were in, just in case it was bad news. This made Timmy worry even more, and he couldn't help his endless pacing. Finally, after what felt to him like forever, the nurse came out with the results of the tests on her clipboard.
"So…, how is Tecna?" Timmy asked, "Will she be okay?"
"Tecna will be just fine." The nurse reassured him, and at that moment, he could cry in great relief, "The tests show no severe damage to her magic, temporary or permanent. It was a good thing you got her to eat something last night or else she wouldn't have had the strength to recover, but now she just needs more rest. I'll bring her out." So, the nurse departed from the waiting room and returned moments later with Tecna. The technology fairy looked like she had been in the middle of a peaceful rest, her eyes were partially open, and her arm was draped around the nurse's shoulder. There was no need for the nurse to given Timmy any directions, he could tell immediately what was needed. The nurse handed Tecna over to Timmy as he guided the weakened technology fairy out of the infirmary.
Once back in Tecna's suite, Timmy lay her down on the couch beside him. Now they were alone again, and the whole time that they were in the infirmary, he had tried desperately not to show that he had fallen for her. Timmy began to stare longingly at Tecna again as she lay comfortably on her couch, still half awake. He didn't care if what he was feeling was getting in the way of his job. His job was to make sure Tecna could go out on her own and live a new life, and his love for her only gave him more drive to do just that. He let out a deep, yet relieved sigh before he spoke.
"You look very tired,' He said, "do you want to go back to sleep for a while longer?"
"No," Tecna told him, despite her eyes being half closed, "I want to spend as much time with you as I possibly can, even if I know that sounds completely illogical."
"That doesn't matter, you trust no one else but me and you feel safest with me." Timmy reassured her in a soft voice, "I understand why you feel the way you do." Tecna gave him a small smile before noticing his laptop in the corner of her eye, absolutely destroyed.
"I'm sorry about your laptop." She said abruptly, even though her voice was quiet from exhaustion.
"No Tecna, I don't want you to have to apologize for anything," Timmy told her, reaching out and caressing her cheek with his thumb as her head was now rested on his lap, "A laptop is just a piece of machinery, it can be replaced. Your life is much more precious and fragile than that, and a life can never be replaced."
"No one has ever said that to me before." Her voice caught in her throat as she heard his words, causing her to be utterly speechless. Timmy only moved his hand from her cheek to slide his fingers through her hair in response, a smile of his own crossing his features.
"Maybe someone should start." After that, the two of them were silent. There was nothing that came between them, and there was just the intimacy. Timmy had no idea that just over two months ago, he wouldn't have dreamed of falling so hard for anyone in his life. He was devoted to his studies in college and his past time of learning about Zenithian culture and trade. It was that fascination with Zenith that got him the job with Tecna, and the rest seemed like a massive blur. As soon as Tecna got the courage to speak to him, his entire world changed. She confided more and more in him, because she had nobody else to fully trust with the traumatizing experiences she endured. There was something he had done that made her feel that she could trust him more than anyone, and she was right to trust him. Knowing all that he knew now, Timmy had a great weight on his shoulders. One wrong move and Tecna could be lost to him forever. He wasn't about to let that happen.
Days had passed, and Timmy continued going to Stella and Brandon for dance lessons. It would be that coming weekend that he planned for the big night. He had spoken with Alfea's cooks, stating that Tecna had never experienced a formal dinner. With reluctance, they agreed to provide the meal. Musa and Helia found a small, yet open space in Alfea's gardens to set up a formal set of a table and chairs. They surrounded the space in bright lights to illuminate the scene. Stella was almost done putting the finishing touches on Tecna's dress, and a few days before the date, she had brought him in after a dance lesson for approval. He could only imagine how beautiful Tecna would look in the dress, but nothing would hold a candle to seeing her wear it in person. All the preparations were going smoothly, and Timmy was in absolute bliss to anticipate the upcoming night.
However, when he wasn't planning Tecna's special night, he spent more than his fair share of time with her. He hardly ever went to the workers' quarters to sleep anymore and spent his nights falling asleep next to Tecna in her bed. It was the day of Timmy's big surprise that he was called into Mrs. Faragonda's office for a few questions. He sat down opposite her, looking serious, but his nerves were beginning to show.
"I want you to be honest with me, Timmy. How much time are you really spending with Tecna?" She asked him with a firm tone to her voice.
"Tecna doesn't want to be left alone." Timmy protested, "She's afraid and I just don't want her to revert to her self-destructive behaviors. Remember how she refused to eat her meals and hid from everyone who entered her room?"
"Yes, I do remember that." Mrs. Faragonda said sternly, "If Tecna is to be independent enough to go out on her own, she can't be relying on you to wait on her hand and foot. I know you have made it clear that she won't be safe unless this Mr. Err man is put to justice, but we have searched for him with no trace. We will screen anyone who comes to claim Tecna, but it's been four months since she's been admitted. If no one comes to take her home to Zenith, she will be placed in a relocation program. That program with set her up with living arrangements and employment. If she starts being independent now, I'm positive she'll be fine. But you know what this means, don't you?"
"You can't do this!" Timmy suddenly protested, although he knew that she certainly could, "Tecna needs me!"
"What she needs is to learn to be self-sufficient. You are to accompany her for mealtimes and if she needs anything during the night. That was your original schedule and I expect you to return to following it. In fact, I encourage you to bring her to the fairies' cafeteria instead of eating in her room. She needs to associate herself with the others and meet now people."
"Don't you get it, Tecna has trust issues!" Timmy shot back, "She has social anxiety, she'd be paralyzed with fear surrounded by people she doesn't know!"
"That is exactly the reason why she will be encouraged to go to the fairies' cafeteria. So she can form strategies to face her anxieties." Mrs. Faragonda pressed, "I understand that trust issues and social anxieties can't be cured, but all that's being done at this time is enabling them to continue. Tecna will not get better if she doesn't have the direction."
"But-!" Even if Timmy wanted desperately to fight what was happening, he knew he had no power to. Mrs. Faragonda was the head of the Alfea Transition Institute, whatever she said was final.
"That's enough, now go to the workers' quarters until dinner. You can let Tecna know what is going to happen then." At that moment, Timmy knew that his date with Tecna that he had been planning for two weeks would be the last night they would spend together.
When Tecna says "No one has ever said that to me before." and Timmy says "Maybe someone should start," was actually one of my starting points for this story that I built on with inspiration from An Unlikely Pair. Unfortunately the moment was kinda lost in the heap of how the story had to go, but I'm happy I was able to put it in.
Also, this last scene with Mrs. Faragonda was actually a spur of the moment idea. i was trying to think of a way for Timmy not to be around for an upcoming chapter, and since he is so dead-set on being by Tecna's side, there had to be something to get in his way.
