Chapter Twelve: Passion and Love

Deep in the secluded reaches of Zenith where Mr. Err hid himself away, he watched the events involving his prized possession unfold. He had been on to Timmy's efforts as soon as the young man had found out about the shock collar. Mr. Err had used the same method that Tecna had used, albeit with his own hacking knowledge and not with magic, to infiltrate Mrs. Faragonda's computer and Timmy's own laptop. That way, he was able to overhear the conversations Timmy had been having with the elderly woman in regard to his whereabouts. By now, Mr. Err had already ensured that his tracks couldn't be traced back, and his breach into the system remained undetected. Neither Timmy or Mrs. Faragonda were aware that they had been hacked. His plans had been set in motion for weeks now, so he wasn't concerned at all with being caught off guard. Quite the opposite was true, in fact. Mr. Err was prepared.

"Let this be a warning to you, you worthless, insignificant fairy. I am coming for you, and when I have you in my grasp again, everything you ever experienced outside of these walls will have never happened." He hissed menacingly, "You will be mine for the rest of your miserable life, just as it should be." Mr. Err didn't have to see the entirety of what had happened to be certain that he had severely hurt Tecna. Even if she would eventually recover, he thoroughly enjoyed watching her suffer.

After minutes of unresponsiveness from Tecna, Timmy relocated her to her bed. He never removed his hand from her wrist as he kept track of her unsteady pulse. One second, he could hardly make it out, and the next her heart-rate would have increased rapidly. Knowing this, Timmy was less afraid that he had lost Tecna, but that didn't mean that could change in an instant. He slowly lay her down on the bed and didn't cover her up. He was so afraid that if things didn't improve, he would have to get Alfea's medical staff involved and confess to them what he had gotten Tecna into. The tears in his eyes never ceased from falling as he tightened his grasp in her wrist in reassurance that he would never leave her.

"Please Tecna…, please be okay." He pleaded through his endless tears, "I promised you that you wouldn't get hurt… you've been through so much and I only wanted to do you better. You deserve… so much better." Then, he couldn't help himself, he buried his face beside hers next to her pillow, wanting desperately to kiss her. Now was the hugest test of his restraint.

Hours had passed, and Timmy dared not close his eyes. He squeezed Tecna's hand the entire time as his tears still continued in an endless flood. By now, the pace of Tecna's heart-rate had regulated, which made him sigh great exhales of relief. All that was left was for her to wake up, that is, if she would. It was around midnight, and Timmy hadn't even left Tecna's side for a second, regardless of how tired he was. His fear was too great for his fatigue. Then, as he stared longingly at her, she began to move in her bed.

"Tecna." He breathed, the tears threatening to prick the corners of his eyes again, "I'm right here, you'll be okay." Then, she continued to move slightly, and finally opened her teal eyes. Those eyes could entrance him forever, but now they were full of fear and uncertainty.

"Timmy?" That was the first thing she had said. Her voice was so frail, so exhausted, and it filled him with endless worry.

"Tecna, how do you feel?" He asked her softly.

"Weak." She responded as her eyes began to close again. It only took a second for Timmy to start to panic.

"No no no, stay with me." He begged her as her eyes opened again, "I want you to do something for me, just listen. I need to get you something to eat, so I'm going to set up the webcams in our cellphones and I want you to keep talking to me until I get back, okay."

"Okay." Tecna agreed as she tried with all her strength to lift herself up in the bed so she wouldn't fall asleep on him. Timmy adjusted her pillow so at least she had something to rest her head on before setting up the webcam on their cellphones. Then he left to her bathroom to fill a cup of water for her before he left her suite entirely. After a few minutes, Timmy could still hear shuffling and the sound of Tecna drinking the water.

"Can you hear me all right? Is the audio connection good?" He asked her. They did not have the video active, all that was important to Timmy was that they could hear each other.

"It's fine Timmy." She reassured him; her voice sounded so tired.

"Just hang in there, I know you're exhausted, and I'll be back as soon as I can." Timmy told her.

"Can't I just… rest my eyes?" Tecna asked as her words quieted.

"Come on Tecna, stay with me." Timmy pleaded as he began to quicken his pace toward the cafeteria. Usually something was laid out for the fairies to take if they needed to do some late-night snacking. As soon as Timmy entered the room, he rushed to the snack counter.

"Okay Tecna, I'm in the cafeteria now." He told her as he turned the video on for her to look at the options that were left out, "What would you like."

"Umm," She pondered, "maybe just that little protein bowl." It was a small plastic container with an assortment of meats and cheeses in tiny cubes.

"Okay, I'll be back there in a few minutes." He assured her as he grabbed the container and one with a small berry parfait filled with Greek yogurt and granola. He felt she needed more than just a few bite size pieces of meat and cheese to regain her strength.

Once Timmy returned to Tecna's bedroom, he placed the food on her nightstand beside her empty cup of water.

"Do you… need help going to the washroom?" He asked her, surprisingly overcoming his nerves at the offer. Just a month and a half ago, he would've never considered the very idea of assisting Tecna with something so personal. Now, she was his responsibility, no one else knew what condition she was in, and he hoped to keep it that way. He was determined to help her make a full recovery, as if he never made that fatal mistake.

"I should be okay, thank you Timmy." Tecna thought it might be wise to at least try to use the washroom and attempted to lift herself out of bed. Unfortunately, she buckled under her own weight, but Timmy caught her before she could hit the floor. He guided her to the bathroom and made sure that she had a firm grasp on the counter before giving her privacy,

"Just let me know when you're done." He told her, and she nodded in response. A few more minutes passed before Timmy helped Tecna back onto her bed. Then, she turned to notice more food than she had requested.

"I got you a fruit parfait too." Timmy said as he passed her the protein bowl she asked for, "You need to gain back your strength."

"I've never been treated like this in my life." Tecna admitted, " I probably would've been left to die after being shocked unconscious." Hearing those words shook Timmy to the very core, he knew how much Tecna devalued herself, and it didn't help that no one encouraged her to consider her worth.

"You won't have to worry about that anymore." Timmy told her softly, only to be reminded with her words what had got her in this condition in the first place "Tecna, this was all my fault. I shouldn't have gotten you to try to use that computer's IP address to find Mr. Err's location. I put your life in jeopardy and that is the last thing I wanted. All I wanted was to help you be free…, and you deserve freedom. You deserve…so much better than what you've had." As Timmy continued to ramble, it was at that moment that Tecna could finally see how bloodshot his eyes were from crying and how red his cheeks had become. She could even hear his voice crack with every word he spoke.

"Timmy, have you been… crying… for me?" She asked him in astonishment. Now, something in her knew Timmy cared for her much more than she could even fathom.

"I don't think there was a second when I stopped." He confessed, "I was so scared that I could've killed you. I-"

"Timmy," Tecna interjected before he could start rambling again, "There is something I need to ask you, and… please tell me if I'm being too forward or even inappropriate. I know I can tell you anything and even if you reject it, you won't judge or chastise me for it."

"Tecna, no… no. You have been punished and abused your entire life. I wouldn't dream of doing something like that to you." He insisted, "Go ahead, what do you want to tell me?"

"Can you explain something to me?" She continued hesitantly, "I feel like… I don't want to spend time with anybody but you. I feel like nobody can touch me when I'm with you, I feel safe and protected. And when I see you… my heart can't stop racing. I've never experienced this before, and I don't know if this is normal-"

"Wait, I'm going to have to stop you there." Timmy interrupted, and Tecna froze, afraid that she had opened up too much. However, Timmy was only trying to register all that Tecna had just confessed. Stella and Brandon were right, she had fallen for him, but didn't know what all these emotions meant.

"What," Tecna's voice quieted, and she turned away from him as she placed her empty container of meat and cheese on her nightstand, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"No Tecna," Timmy reassured her, reaching out and cupping her cheek in his hand, "Ever since the night you told me everything about Mr. Err and how you were treated, I've felt the same way. What you're feeling is love, and it was on that night that I knew with unwavering certainty that I loved you."

"You have?" She asked him. Now they were looking each other in the eyes, teal to hazel, hazel to teal, and Tecna only now realized how close they were.

"I might have been reluctant to admit it at first but as time went by, I felt that there was no doubt in my mind that I had fallen for you," Timmy confessed breathlessly, "I just want to do… one thing… if you let me."

"Okay." And with Tecna's final consent, Timmy leaned in and kissed her for the first time. It was a small peck; he was unsure of how she would take it. She had never been kissed, nor had she known its meaning.

"That's a kiss." He explained in the softest of whispers, filling her heart with such a warmth that it was overwhelmingly exhilarating. Then, the technology fairy couldn't help herself, with what little strength she had, she flung her arms around Timmy's neck and returned the kiss with vigorous passion. At first, this surprised Timmy, but he welcomed it with just as much vigour.

"I've been wanting to do this… for so long, but I… thought you didn't need it." He admitted in between the kisses he had been holding back for what felt to him like eternity.

"What do you mean?" Tecna asked, equally as euphoric as Timmy was.

"I want you to be free… To have you own choices and desires…, and if that meant I had to let you go at my heart's expense, I would. You should be no one's possession."

"Strangely enough, I feel like this is different." Tecna said, "I want to give you my heart, and yet I would still be free. And now that I know what this kind of possession is and that you have the same feelings I do, I can say I love you too."

"You haven't experienced it before, so of course you didn't know what these feelings were." Timmy told her, "And I don't care if my feelings are getting in the way of my assigned duties. I will kill Mr. Err for everything he's ever done to you." Timmy then gathered Tecna in his arms and lay her down on her bed, covering her with the soft duvet, "I'll be right back." He left to the bathroom momentarily, and Tecna had a feeling she knew what he was up to. Once he returned, he lay beside her, rubbing her shoulders gently.

"Timmy, you don't have to-?" She was then shushed by a finger on her lips.

"Ssh, beautiful butterfly, I'll never leave you now." He insisted in a soothing whisper, "Just sleep, regain your strength, and I'll protect you." Tecna closed her eyes, not even wanting to resist peace. Just as expected, Timmy's song carried her away into enchanting dreams of which she had never experienced ever before.

Timmy's last words to Tecna in this chapter are actually from a story I remember writing right when I first began writing fanfiction, back in the days of the 4kids forums. Realizing that I was one of the OG fans is astonishing!