"A Strange Bond'

Note: What happens when a private man's personal tragedy is suddenly known by his entire town, and he's bombarded with sympathy cards, gift baskets and casseroles? What happens when he thinks back on the centuries of being ignored and dismissed? About his sister's disappearance being forgotten? And then compares it to the sudden outpouring he's receiving now, when it's far too late? He snaps, that's what. Alpha has to talk him down, and she and Father Time give him the option of taking a much-needed break. (Another chapter name could be 'Time In A Bottle, Part II'.)

Mental health is a subject that I think shouldn't be ignored or stigmatized, and having dealt with my own issues over the years, the last thing I want to do is trigger anyone. It's no secret by now that TF is dealing with a bout of mental illness after a crushing loss, and this story is as much about his journey back to wellness as it is about him finding love. He suffers a severe emotional breakdown in this chapter, and if you find that this would be upsetting for you...well, you know the drill by now. Might be a bit OOC, except...the movies never showed him in such a situation, and I'm going for a bit of realism here. Based on his personality traits in the movie, the history I've given him, and a couple other roles his actor Art LaFleur played that involved angry/emotional outbursts, I thought, 'How would he react if such-and-such happened?'. So, I came up with this. Rated T for TF swearing! Edit: Additional content at the end.

"Chapter 34: Critical Meltdown"

April 16th

A light sprinkling of rain was falling when Tooth Fairy arrived home to find gift baskets (seven of them, in all) sitting directly outside of his front door. "What in the world...?"

They had to be for someone else. Someone must have delivered them to his house by mistake.

He saw a tag tied to the handle of one of the baskets, and he turned it so that he could read the message. "Huh? 'To the Tooth Fairy. Our deepest sympathies. Best regards, Charles and Susan.' Who the heck are Charles and Susan?"

He read the other tags, and sure enough, they were all for him!

Under other circumstances, he probably would have been touched. Really, it was nice of these people to reach out to him at all.

But instead, he felt very uncomfortable. He didn't even know most of these people! Mayor Kendrick had sent one of the baskets; it was by far the largest one, and there was a bottle of red wine nestled among the expensive cheese, crackers, cookies and fruit. He recognized the bottle as being the same kind as the one Marcy had served at dinner that night. A wave of nausea swept over him. They know. They all know! People I don't know from Adam know my sister is dead...They're sending me these things, and I can't even bring myself to visit her grave!

He considered leaving the baskets outside and pretending they weren't there, but that would be rude and people would know. He turned around, saw Fairies flying off to their own jobs, and every single one he saw made eye contact with him. They were looking at him. One of them waved; he automatically waved back.

A woman flying beside a man (he was unclear if it was her boyfriend, her husband, or just someone she knew) pointed at him in what she probably thought was a discreet manner, and the look of pity on her face was hard to take.

His ribcage tightened, and he took a few deep breaths before trying to go inside. Something rustled on the other side, and it took more of an effort to open his door than it should have. He gave an extra push, and he soon realized what was causing the trouble. Envelopes of every possible color had been pushed through the mail slot, and several of them had gotten wedged under the door as he opened it.

Tooth Fairy nudged aside the envelopes with his foot, brought in the gift baskets, and locked the door behind him. There must be over a hundred cards here...

He nudged the envelopes back into a heap in front of his door, sort of a half-hearted effort to tidy up a bit. But when Brinna disappeared, I never heard a peep.

What was he feeling?

The only word he could come up with was 'bad', and that wasn't very specific.

"I can't deal with this now..." Tooth Fairy shook his head and removed his damp coat and hat. As he hung them up, the mail slot squeaked and another card dropped in. He retreated upstairs to shower and put on his pajamas. He wanted to shave too, but his hands were shaking, and he even checked his wings in the bathroom mirror to make sure they weren't glowing.

No, his magic wasn't going into Flux. He put his shaving supplies away again and went back downstairs. Before he had reached the bottom of his staircase, his mail slot squeaked again and more cards dropped to the floor.

He retrieved his cell phone from his coat pocket, sat down on the couch, and called Alpha.

"Hey, luv."

"Hi, Alpha." Tooth Fairy flinched at yet another metallic squeak. "Can you come over?"

There was the soft rustling of fabric, and the creaking of bedsprings. "Aye, let me get dressed."

"Oh, you were in bed?" Tooth Fairy now felt even worse. "I'm sorry, I...Never mind, we can talk later. G'night, Alpha."

"Nonsense, I-"

He disconnected the call and put his head in his hands. Of course she's in bed! She changed her sleep schedule, and this is around the time I usually go to bed. Where is my brain?

Squeak!

What am I gonna do with all this fruit?

Squeak!

Aiden started all this...the little...

Knock-knock-knock!

Tooth Fairy wasn't going to answer, but then he saw the mail slot open and stay open. Someone was looking into his house!

You gotta be flossing kidding me!

Tooth Fairy got up and opened the door, ready to give them a piece of his mind, when he saw it was a little old lady and her young granddaughter. It had been the child who had peeked, and the wind immediately went out of his sails; he supposed he could give her a pass for that. Kids were nosy. The old lady held a covered Pyrex dish in her gnarled hands. "Uh...hi?"

"Hi. I don't know if you remember me, but my name is Judith, and my husband is your tailor. This is my granddaughter, Ainslee. I just wanted to drop off this casserole." Judith held it out.

"Oh...Thanks, but...I don't understand..." He reluctantly took it.

"We were so very sorry to hear about your sister, Tooth Fairy." Judith patted his hand as she transferred the dish to him, and in the same motion lowered her granddaughter's hand as the child began to pick her nose. "I can see you're on your way to bed, so we'll be on our way."

"Thanks. Uh...bye."

"Goodbye."

When Brinna disappeared, no one did anything like this...

He shut the door and wondered if he was in a waking nightmare. He went into his kitchen and put the casserole in his freezer, and when he came back out again he sensed magic in his living room. A Fairy Ring comprised of orange mushrooms, Alpha's magical calling card, appeared in front of him. A moment later, Alpha stood in his living room.

"Alpha...You didn't have to..." Tooth Fairy realized something. "Oh, I hung up on you, didn't I? I'm sorry!"

Alpha waved that off and came over to hug him. "I got the feelin' it wasn't on purpose. What's up? Ye sounded odd on the phone."

Tooth Fairy wordlessly pointed behind her, and she turned to look at the cards and baskets.

"What's all this, then?" Alpha moved closer to look, but didn't touch them. She turned back to her boyfriend, and simultaneously heard the squeak of the mail slot and saw him wince as if it caused him physical pain. It certainly caused her ears pain! That was worse than nails on a chalk board!

"These got dropped off this morning, and they're still coming. And my tailor's wife just dropped off a casserole." Tooth Fairy went and sat down on his couch.

"Oh...That was nice of them," Alpha went over and sat down beside him. He was wearing gray pajamas today, and they seemed to reflect his mood.

"Yeah..." Tooth Fairy rubbed his temples. "And I hate it..."

Alpha didn't scold him for not appreciating a kind gesture. She wasn't here to judge him, and she could see that his privacy had been breached. He felt exposed. Intruded upon. And maybe something more, because she had never seen him agitated in quite this way before. He couldn't seem to be still. He fidgeted every now and then, like he had an itch between his wings, and his attention seemed to be all over the place. She sighed and took his hand. "I'm sorry I told them, luv..."

He nodded. "I am too, but it's not you. I gave you permission. I just wish it hadn't been necessary."

"Aye..." Alpha looked at the cards, then ventured to ask, "Are ye going to read them?"

Tooth Fairy shrugged. "I know I should, but I just..."

Alpha waited, but he didn't finish. She let go of his hand and put her arm around him. "Tell me, luv..."

Tooth Fairy shook his head. "I can't. I can't even look at them."

Squeak!

Tooth Fairy clapped his hands over his ears and growled, then got up and stalked down to his basement without a word. He came back with an oilcan like a man on a mission. He parted the drapes a bit with his index finger and peeked out the window to make sure no one was on his porch; he didn't want to get pinched if the slot went up again. He oiled the mail slot's hinges, then straightened up again. He saw Alpha watching him, and it occurred to him that she hadn't followed him or asked any questions.

He had rudely left her there. He lowered his eyes and put the oilcan on the coffee table as he reclaimed his seat. "Sorry, that was driving me crazy..."

"Aye," Alpha stifled a yawn against her fist. "Hurt me ears, too."

He saw the yawn, and guilt set in. "Go home to bed, Alpha. I'm okay."

Alpha frowned and gently turned his face towards her with a hand to his cheek. She shook her head. "No, you're not..."

"Well, I will be..." He put his hand over hers, holding it to his cheek, then kissed her. "Look, we're both tired. I'll call you at around three, okay?"

There was a soft 'plop' of cards falling on top of the existing pile, but no infernal hinge squeak, and no flinch from him.

"Okay," Alpha kissed him again, and they parted ways for the time being.

Later that day, Alpha and Tooth Fairy sat in his living room again. He was freshly shaven, now that the shakes had gone away, but he didn't look very well rested.

Has he even slept at all? Alpha wondered.

None of the cards had been opened, and the fruit in the gift baskets filled the air with a light, sweet scent. It made him feel ill.

None of the food had been touched, and Alpha wasn't surprised by this.

Tooth Fairy was more keyed up than ever, and he couldn't seem to sit down for very long. He paced his living room, giving one-word answers to most of her questions, and winding his floss like mad. More casseroles had arrived since she'd gotten there, and each new arrival seem to make things worse.

"Why don't ye put the cards away for now?" Alpha suggested during one of his breaks in pacing when he sat down beside her, "You could get some boxes or plastic totes, and store 'em out of sight until you're ready to go through 'em."

Tooth Fairy was pulling at a thread on the hem of his pants without realizing it, and the fabric was beginning to pucker. His sock had slipped down a tiny bit, showing about an inch of his leg before he realized and primly tugged his sock back into place. "And if I'm never ready?"

Alpha saw this, and she noticed in passing that he was a pretty hairy guy. Granted, she had seen him shirtless before, but at the time she had been more concerned with the fact that he'd been unconscious! She pursed her lips in thought at his question. She could easily understand why he wanted to run away from this, but running away from things didn't make them go away. "It's your choice, luv...I can't tell ye what to do. But can I suggest something?"

He nodded.

She didn't like the unfocused look in his eyes.

"Put them away for now, but revisit them in a week. See if you're ready. If not, put'm away again and try in another week."

Tooth Fairy shrugged, but he was considering it. "Has merit...I have some empty totes in my basement. I'll bring 'em up."

Between the two of them, they filled three totes with unopened sympathy cards. They had to cram the lids on tight, and just as the third one clicked into place there was a knock at his door.

Tooth Fairy got up and peeked through the drapes. Then, when he realized he'd been spotted, he muttered a g-rated curse and opened the door just enough to let himself through and closed it behind him. The last person to drop off a casserole, a matronly woman whom Alpha had dubbed 'Nosy Nelly' after she left, had invited herself in and made awkward small talk with him and Alpha before finally taking the hint that now was not a good time, and he wanted to avoid a repeat of that. He came back a few moments later with a casserole in his hands. "There's no more room in my freezer..."

"How many is that, now?"

"Eight."

"Wow." Alpha deadpanned, following him into his kitchen. "Smells good, though."

"Yeah, it's baked ziti, I think..." Tooth Fairy turned back to her. "You want it? You can have it."

"What?" She shook her head. "No, it's yours."

"Well, what about the gift baskets? I can't eat all this before it goes bad." He stuffed the casserole into his fridge after moving a few things around to make room.

"Roy..." Alpha didn't feel right taking them when they were meant for him, and right now she cared not a jot about food. "Forget about the food for now, okay?"

Tooth Fairy wished he could forget about it! There was another knock at the door, and he covered his ears and clenched his teeth.

Some instinct told Alpha that touching him now would be a very bad idea. The knocking eventually stopped, and she waited for him to lower his hands before speaking to him again. "Okay...you're feelin' some kind of way about all this. Can ye tell me what you're thinking?"

"I don't know..." Tooth Fairy shrugged helplessly, and that was the truth. This being unable to identify what he was feeling; he called it 'guy brain'. He wanted to tell her exactly what was wrong, but he wasn't even sure himself. All he knew was that his chest felt tight, and he just wanted to hit something. He felt like he was ready to crawl out of his skin, or cave in on himself, or something, and he didn't know what he wanted. He only knew that there wasn't enough air to breathe, and he didn't want these...things. Finally, he just started talking. "Listen...I don't want to seem ungrateful...but..."

He was so...

Alpha walked over and leaned against the counter beside him. "What?"

There was another knock at the door, and Tooth Fairy actually whimpered a little this time when he covered his ears. If one more person knocked on that door...

The knocking stopped, and she signaled to him that it was safe.

But for how long?

Tooth Fairy gave a mirthless laugh, and he was suddenly fighting back tears. "I don't deserve all this stuff! I didn't earn any of it! It wasn't my fault Brinna died, but I still drove her away, and..."

He was so...

"Oh, luv..." Alpha reached for him, but he moved away as if her touch burned him.

Now his mind was starting to work. Something had clicked, and he understood why he couldn't identify what he was feeling. It was because he was feeling too many things at once, and the feeling that stood front and center? It was pure, unadulterated resentment.

He was so...

"And where was this-this-this outpouring of whatever-you-call-it when she first went missing? Hm?! It was all, 'Oh, where is she? Oh well!', then a week later, it was like she was never even here!"Tooth Fairy slammed his fist down on the counter so hard that the crockery rattled.

He was so...

He was hyperventilating now. "And did anyone ever help me look for her? No! Not one person! And now they wanna come here, and-and-and give me all this junk, as if it's gonna bring her back and make everything okay, but it won't, and I don't want any of it!"

He was so angry!

His fist came down again, harder this time. It hurt. Both his fist and his heart blazed with white-hot agony. Resentment joined his grief and amplified it, and self-loathing completed the mix. He hated these people for doing this! And, oh, it hurt to hate them!

"Roy, don't do that."

This was the wrong thing to say.

"Don't tell me what to do! Everyone's always telling me what I should do, what I should be, what I am, and..." He raised his fist again as if to hit the counter again, then uncurled it and clutched at his head. "Gah! And I could never just be me! Only she ever saw me!" And he hit the counter again.

"I see you. Roy...I see you." Alpha's voice was calm and steady, but internally she was screaming right along with him. "I'm not telling you, I'm asking you...Please, don't do that..."

"Why not?!"

"Because you'll hurt yourself."

"Who cares?"

"I do."

He shook his head and paced his kitchen three times before rounding on her again. But it wasn't her he was angry at. He was acting out aggressively, yes, but she never once became the target. "These hypocrites never even knew my sister, and now they're coming out of the woodwork to give me all this stuff?! 'My condolences', 'we're sorry for your loss', that's bullshit! If they really cared, they would've helped me look for her! They would've tried to find her! And now that they know she's dead, they've made it all about them!" And his fist came down again. "Fuck them! Fuck all of them!"

Tooth Fairy pounded his fist on the counter over and over and over again, and he didn't even realize he'd started sobbing until Alpha forcefully grabbed his wrist in both her hands to keep him from injuring himself.

"Roy, please stop!" She begged.

He tugged a few times to get free so that he could get back to punishing the counter, but it was useless. She wasn't hurting him at all, but he couldn't break her grip either. She could not let him hurt his hand any more than he probably already had.

It was startling to realize that she actually was a bit stronger than he was in her human form, and her contained strength shocked him right out of his tirade. He stopped fighting her, and just cried. His knees gave way, and he slid down to his kitchen floor. He didn't resist when Alpha gathered him close and rocked him; he couldn't. He clutched desperately at the back of her shirt as she quietly shushed him, and he cried harder than he could ever remember crying before. Safe in her arms, he wasn't just letting himself cry; he was an active participant, hurling his rage and pain at the universe itself. "Why couldn't I save her? Why couldn't...Why couldn't..."

Did a part of him still blame himself? Maybe this would always be the case...

But it wasn't long before he pushed it too far and was hyperventilating badly.

"Och, you've gotten yersel' so worked up, luv...Easy, ye're panickin'..." She had seen him have a good cry before. That night on the roof, and the day she'd summarized Brinna's part in Viola's journal, both times he had cried long and hard. But this was the first time she had ever seen him get hysterical. Apart from the sobs, he was vibrating with adrenaline and couldn't seem to catch his breath, and she hated that there was nothing she could do to take this pain away from him. "Shhh, sh-sh-sh...I'm here with ye...I've got ye...Breathe, Roy. Ye need tae breathe."

"I c-c-can't!"

"Yes, ye can. Yes, ye can. Like this, feel how I'm breathin'." Alpha took a deep breath in through her nose, then let out out through her mouth. She repeated it twice. "Ye feel what I'm doin'? Try to match it."

"I can't!"

"Yes, ye can..." She continued to take deep, even breaths and rubbed his heaving back. "Yes, ye can...Yes, ye can..."

He tried. And failed. At least, at first. Then, gradually, he was able to make a bit of progress. "I c-can't...I can't f-feel...my fingers..."

"Aye, that can happen when ye breathe like that, but it'll go away in a bit. Shhh...breathe..." Alpha rocked him as he did his best to steady his breathing a bit, her eyes focused straight ahead as she fought the urge to join in and cry right along with him. She noticed a dust bunny in a corner, and she focused on that.

Tooth Fairy gradually stopped hyperventilating, but the crying continued, and he shook his head without raising it. "I c-can't stop..."

"It'll stop on its own..." Alpha murmured into his hair as she rocked him. "Just let it happen, I've got ye..."

"D-don't leave me...It's t-too big...I feel like th-the walls...are closing in on me!"

He's scared, Alpha realized. Letting himself be vulnerable like this...it scares him. "I'm not goin' anywhere. You're stuck wi' me, aye? The walls aren't really closin' in on ye. You're just doin' what ye need to do, laddie...Just let it all out, and you'll be all right..."

"It h-hurts!"

"I know it does..."

"I just...I just want everything to...go back to normal! Is that...is that t-too much to ask?"

"No, it's not too much to ask..."

Gradually, he began to calm down some, until there was another knock at the door, just barely audible from where they were. As soon as he heard that he went to pieces all over again. Feeling dizzy, he changed his position so that he lay with his head on her leg, just crying as if his heart would break. He had one hand over his face, whether to hide it from view or because it was somehow comforting, Alpha couldn't tell.

"Shhh...Shhh...It's all right, Roy, it's all right...they'll go away soon...I won't let them bother ye...We'll ignore the door. No one else is gettin' near ye today." Alpha let him do what he wanted, so long as he wasn't hurting himself, and she draped her arm over his back between his wings. The fingers of her other hand combed gently through his hair.

She was reminded of the time her old pressure cooker finally gave up the ghost in an explosion of hot water and half-cooked potatoes. The internal pressure was too much for the gasket to handle; she never got her mashed potatoes, but thankfully she was able to duck in time to avoid getting scalded. Today, Roy was a pressure cooker that had simply had enough.

The pressure to go out every night and collect teeth to fuel the magical shield that hid his town from the world, that was hard enough, even though there were many aspects of his job that he enjoyed. The added pressure of having to prove his case to the mayor to keep both her and himself out of trouble, and being forced to lay himself bare in front of the entire town was even worse. Now, as if to add insult to injury, the empty platitudes had come rolling in. Instead of helping him, they were hurting him. He was in so much pain. It broke her heart!

"Why can't they just leave me alone? I just want them to leave me alone..." Tooth Fairy had begun to subside to sniffles, comforted by Alpha's short nails lightly grazing his scalp.

"I know..."

"I'm sorry...I couldn't stop..."

"No, no, no..." Alpha shook her head. "You needed to get that out."

"I don't even...know if it's true or not..." He hitched in a sharp breath, and he realized he could feel his fingers again. He knuckled away the tears without raising his head, but more replaced them. "Everything I said about 'em..."

"That doesn't matter," she whispered, switching over from stroking his hair to rubbing the back of his wing. She would have rubbed his back, but she was in a bad position to do so. It seemed to calm him further, though, and she continued. "That's what it feels like to you right now. And it hurts. I know it does..."

There was yet another knock at his door, and while he didn't start crying hard again, he clutched at her knee and tensed up with a soft whimper.

"It's all right...They're not comin' in...I've got ye..."

"I feel like a prisoner in my own house..." He sniffled, and it dawned on him that his right hand was throbbing something fierce. That was from hitting the counter. It wasn't broken, but he would have a nice bruise. Stupid thing to do...

But what she was doing to his wing felt so nice. It made him drowsy. His eyelids began to droop, and before long he actually drifted off to sleep.

Alpha looked at the clock. It was four in the afternoon, and Tooth Fairy would have to go to work in a few hours. No, he's far too upset. And he's exhausted...

Tooth Fairy gave vent to a congested snore, and Alpha stopped rubbing his wing. Almost as if he noticed, he shifted in his sleep, but then slumbered on.

It was quite unexpected, but certainly not unwelcome, when Mother Nature appeared in the kitchen with them. Alpha would have jumped, but thankfully she sensed the magic of the nature goddess's approach, and she shook her head and put a finger to her lips when Mother Nature opened her mouth to speak. Then she tapped the side of her head.

Mother Nature nodded as she knelt down in front of them and opened a telepathic link. 'What happened, Alpha?'

'There's a lot to catch you up on...' Alpha looked down at Tooth Fairy as his breath shivered in his sleep. She started rubbing his wing again. It took her a good twenty minutes, but she brought Mother Nature up to date on the latest happenings with the Fairies, and she finished with the most recent event. 'I've seen this before. He's...well, he hit a wall. I'm afraid for him, Mother Nature. I love him so much, and I want to help him...but all I've got is some self-help books I've read at the library, and my own experiences. I'm not qualified to help someone going through this! My coping methods haven't always been the healthiest. I tend to take a lot of risks, or go on a bender for a couple days. I don't know what to do.'

Mother Nature's expression was profoundly sad as she nodded. 'It's unusual that a Fairy so young would have to face so much loss. I sensed a rapid decline in his mental health, and a severe one...otherwise, I might not have picked up on it. Alpha, you did the right thing, and the only thing that you could do.'

'But I can't fix this...'

Mother Nature shook her head. 'No...you can't. But you were there for him. Completely accepting and loving. That was what he needed in the moment. And he won't forget that.'

Alpha looked down at him, sniffling a bit, but not crying. 'He can't work tonight...He's a mess...'

Mother Nature frowned thoughtfully. 'I think you should leave that up to him. He'll probably feel somewhat emasculated as it is, when he's calmer. Just...stay with him for now. Maybe get him up to his room, where he won't hear it if someone knocks on the door. And if he's no better by the time his shift draws near, I want you to contact Father Time so that he'll have time. The Tooth Fairy is important...and not just for the job he does. A sweet spirit like him doesn't come along very often...and he's been through enough.'

Alpha smiled softly through her sadness. She couldn't agree more! 'I'll do that.'

And with that, Mother Nature was gone as if she had never been there at all. Tooth Fairy gave another congested snore, and Alpha reluctantly woke him. "Roy? Wake up, luv."

"Mmph..." Tooth Fairy grunted softly, then realized that the hard floor was irritating his pressure points. Wait...hard floor? His eyes fluttered open, and he sat up stiffly. "I fell asleep..."

"Aye, ye did."

"I...Alpha, did I drop the F-bomb earlier?" Tooth Fairy looked mortified.

"Aye," Alpha offered him her handkerchief. "But I think you were justified."

Tooth Fairy took the offered hankie and blew his nose, then he remembered something else. 'Don't tell me what to do'. "I...oh, Alpha, I'm sorry! I yelled at you!"

"Aye, ye did. And ye know what?"

"What?"

"I get it. You needed me to hear you. I should have asked you to stop hitting the counter, not told you. I'm sorry."

Tooth Fairy stared at her, and his eyes filled with tears again. "No...It was me...It's all me..."

Alpha shushed him and put her arms around him. He sniffled a few times, but didn't fully break down. Then there was another knock on the door. He made a small sound and hid his face in her shoulder, and she felt herself growing angry. "Roy, do ye have any loose leaf paper, tape, and a marker?"

"Huh?" Alpha repeated her question, and he nodded and pulled back. "Yeah, somewhere. Why?"

"We're goin' tae make a 'Do Not Disturb' sign for your door and continue to ignore the knocks if people ignore the sign." She told him.

He blew his nose again, but the tears didn't stop; it was a sort of continuous leaking that he finally just ignored. Wiping them away was a wasted effort. "I hate having you see me like this...I hate this. It...it makes me feel naked...I dunno what I'm saying."

Alpha shook her head. "Actually, I think you're making a lot of sense. Letting yourself be vulnerable like that...You're giving someone else a look at what lives inside your heart. And it's not all puppies and rainbows. Some of it is...well, like this. It's hard to let people see that part of yourself, isn't it?"

He nodded. "That's exactly it. But if you weren't...I couldn't have..." He put his head in his hands, and his shoulders began to shake again. "Dang it, I thought I was done!"

Alpha had a feeling he would probably be doing this on and off for the rest of the day. She sat with him until it passed, and she made the sign when he pointed her in the direction of his junk drawer.

He went to the sink and splashed some cold water on his face before drying it with a dish towel, and after checking to make sure no one was out there he quickly taped up the sign and came back in. He put a hand over his eyes when he realized he couldn't look in any direction without seeing a gift basket or a tote full of cards.

Alpha saw his difficulty; he didn't even have to tell her. She came over and put her arm around him. "C'mon, let's get you upstairs and away from those."

"I'm sorry..."

"Roy...please, stop apologizing. It's all right."

He allowed himself to be led upstairs, and he uncovered his eyes when they reached his room. Then he blanched when he saw what was on the floor. A trail of clothing led from his bedroom door to the bathroom, and there, for all the world to see (or so it felt to him) was his underwear. A pair of blue boxer shorts with little sharks for a design lay crumpled on the floor just before the bathroom door. "Oh, jeez! Alpha, don't look!"

Alpha had already turned her back and covered her eyes. "I saw nothing." Any other time, she would have laughed about it and maybe even resorted to some playful teasing, citing the fact that he had already seen one of her bras and fair was fair, but now was not the time.

Tooth Fairy scrambled to gather up his clothes, and he stashed them in the hamper. It was a mesh and metal thing in the corner of his room, and he tucked his boxers into his pants and out of sight. He turned to apologize yet again, and saw that Alpha hadn't moved. He sighed and sat down on his unmade bed. "Okay, you can look."

Alpha went over to him, and she tilted her head when he looked away. "Mind if I sit down?"

He patted the mattress without a word. I can't believe she saw that!

Alpha sat beside him. She twiddled her thumbs for a moment, and her mouth quirked at the left corner. She couldn't help herself. "They were nice, if it makes ye feel any better."

"It doesn't, thanks." Tooth Fairy replied, then returned her little smirk. "Thought you said you saw nothing."

"Oops?"

"Heh..." He shook his head, losing what little smile he had. "What time is it?"

Alpha took out her phone. "It's a little after 4:30. You have time."

The thought of going to work tonight caused his anxiety to skyrocket, and he put his head in his hands again. "I need to shake this. I can't have a panic attack in the air!"

Remembering Mother Nature's offer, Alpha nodded thoughtfully. "Maybe you need more time."

"I don't have more time!" Tooth Fairy was beginning to breathe too quickly.

"Yes, you do," Alpha touched his shoulder gently to gauge his reaction; if he pulled away, she would let him. He didn't, and she put her arm around him. "Mother Nature came while you were asleep."

He looked up at her, clearly shocked. "She saw me like this?"

Alpha nodded, and decided that matter-of-fact was the way to go. "I think you were approaching a crisis point, and she sensed it. She made an offer."

"Offer?" Tooth Fairy rolled his wrist as if to say, 'and?'.

"If you feel like you're not able to work tonight, Father Time will step in. She's worried about ye, Roy..."

Recalling all the times he had pushed through his problems on his own, his expression turned bitter. "I'm sure she is."

"She is. And so am I."

Bitterness gave way to remorse. "But I don't want you to worry about me. I want...I wanna be someone who's good for you, not...a burden."

Alpha reached over and took his hand, and he returned the grip. "Roy...you're not a burden. You have a burden. There's a difference. Sometimes they get too heavy, and we need someone to sort of...take over for a while. And yours was so incredibly heavy..."

He nodded, looking down at the rug. He didn't shy away from the blue color this time. His sister had loved blue. It wasn't his favorite color, but a lot of what he owned and a lot of what he wore was blue. Had he done that on purpose? Maybe, subconsciously, he wanted to be reminded of her in his everyday life.

But he did shy away from the thought of being all by himself in a Time Bubble again. He wasn't physically ill this time, but he was starting to realize that, at least at the moment, he was ill in another sort of way. He was heartsick, and the thought of being alone right now truly scared him. He had no intention of doing something drastic; his mind never even went there! But the thought of that solitude, a looming monster that mocked him with its implacable presence, chilled him to the bone. "If I do this..."

"Aye?"

Tooth Fairy's mind flashed back to a few days ago, when they had come very close to making love, and he wasn't sure how she would take this request. But he had to ask her. "Would ya stay?"

Alpha opened her mouth to reply, but he started to ramble.

"I know we agreed to no sleepovers for now, but I can sleep on the couch. I won't try anything, I swear. I just don't wanna be alone, and-"

Alpha put her hand over his mouth. "You're not sleepin' on the couch, not with your back problems. Me, I can sleep anywhere. And your couch is new, so I'm sure it's comfy. I'll take the couch." She smiled.

His eyes welled up again, and he hugged her. "Thank you...I really don't wanna put you out..."

Alpha held the backs of his shoulders, but in a different kind of embrace than the one from a few days ago. "And hey, we can hang out and watch movies all day in our PJ's, if ye want."

"Thought you didn't own PJ's," he smiled.

"I have sweatpants and T-shirts, if ye don't mind frump girl sittin' on yer couch."

He snorted. "'Frump girl'...You definitely have your own quirky style, but frumpy you are not."

And it wasn't as if there was a shortage of food now, if he could bring himself to eat it.

Roy's embarrassment came back when Father Time stood before him in his bedroom. This guy was the big cheese, and it almost felt like a personal failure to have to ask this of him.

"Mother Nature tells me you have a request," Father Time leaned on his staff, and from the look in his eyes he already knew what the request was going to be.

There was a sort of fatherly compassion in his eyes that Roy couldn't really remember seeing in his own father's eyes, and he looked down at the floor. "I..."

Seeing that Tooth Fairy didn't have the words to ask, Father Time nodded. "You don't have to say it, Roy. I can see that these are unusual circumstances, and I'll grant your request. Alpha, will you be staying here as well?"

Tooth Fairy covered his face to hide the tears. The skin under his eyes stung from the salt and the constant rubbing. Father Time had remembered to call him by his name!

"Aye." She rubbed Tooth Fairy's back.

"Then you better go pack a bag. I'll stay with him until you get back."

Alpha nodded and got up.

Tooth Fairy felt a brief flare of panic as soon as she broke physical contact with him, and he reached out for her.

Alpha gripped his hand between hers, then put one hand to the back of his head and whispered in his ear. "I'm coming right back, luv. It's all right."

Feeling silly, he nodded and looked away, gently pulling his hand from hers. "Reflex..."

She kissed his cheek and went home to pack.

Father Time brought Tooth Fairy's desk chair over and sat down in front of him with the creak of ancient bones. "You know...Mother Nature and I, we sometimes forget that mortals don't function on the same level as the two of us. You've done such a good job as the Tooth Fairy that all these years we sort of overlooked you. That was one of our biggest mistakes."

"You two don't make mistakes...You're gods." Tooth Fairy dried his face on his shirt collar; his handkerchief, or, rather, Alpha's handkerchief, was a teary, snotty mess.

"We're immortal beings who are viewed as gods, but we're not above making mistakes. And we're not above complacency. We thought you had moved on, and so we dusted off our hands and did the same. And, for that, we are truly sorry." Father Time nodded as if to emphasize what he'd just said, and Tooth Fairy couldn't answer. "There's no shame in asking us for help, you know."

"I don't know how..." Tooth Fairy shook his head. "That's not me."

Father Time smiled sadly. "I think it's starting to be. It started with Alpha."

Tooth Fairy looked up at Father Time, then nodded and looked away. He hoped she would come back soon. Father Time's words meant a lot, but at the same time, they made him feel uncomfortable. It was like having your boss offer you a hug!

Thankfully, Alpha didn't take long to pack. She carried a duffel bag over her shoulder, and she had the box containing her Scrabble board tucked under her arm. "Did I miss anything?"

Tooth Fairy shook his head. "Just guy talk."

Alpha put the game on his desk next to his laptop and smiled. "'Guy talk'. Right. Um, where can I put me bag?"

"Wherever you want," He shrugged, running a hand through his hair to make it lie down. He really needed a trim.

Father Time stood up. "Very well, I'll do what I came here to do. Alpha, you're aware that if you step outside or go back to The Hollow, the spell will be broken and you'll both be back on 'real world' time?"

"Aye, I figured that. How long do we have?" She asked.

"As long as he needs, or until your food runs out."

And with that, Father Time was gone and they had been sectioned off from the rest of the world.

Through his haze of exhaustion and pain, Tooth Fairy realized that he and Alpha would essentially be living together for an undetermined amount of time. What would normally be an enticing (and nerve-wracking) thought was now a comforting one. But he still felt guilty for derailing her life like this!

Alpha went over to his bedroom curtains to peek out, and she stared at what she saw. The sprinkling had become a downpour, and raindrops hovered in place just outside the curved pane of glass as if she were looking at a snapshot. The few Fairies who were out in such dreadful weather hung suspended in the sky, one of them holding a newspaper ineffectively over his head to keep it dry, and two of them wearing rain ponchos and galoshes. Everything was moving so excruciatingly slowly that she couldn't even see it. "Whoahhh...That has got to be the most surreal thing I've ever seen. And this is coming from someone who once refereed an arm wrestling match between Harry and a Bugbear."

"What's a Bugbear?"

"Sort of a bigger, stronger version of a Goblin. Same family, different species. I'm sure you've seen 'em out and about."

"Oh," Tooth Fairy wouldn't have known if he had, because no one had pointed them out and it seemed rude to randomly ask people what they were.

Alpha went over and sat beside him. "Did ye sleep at all today?"

He shook his head. "I tried, but every time I could finally relax, someone was bangin' on my door..."

"Don't they know you sleep during the day?" Alpha asked, trying to hide how irritated she was.

"I thought so, but I guess they forgot. Or didn't care..." He wiped away a tear.

"Well," Alpha rubbed the space between his wings, "They can't bother you now, and you've got all the time in the world. Take yer shoes off, and lie down."

"I'm sorry..." He didn't even know what he was apologizing for, but he felt guilty. He didn't even know why. Maybe it was having someone make a fuss over him. He'd gotten so used to being alone, that when he really needed something and actually got it, he didn't always know how to receive it.

Alpha lightly brushed back his hair and knocked the side of her shoe against his to prompt him to remove them. "Well, if you insist on being sorry, why don't you be sorry in a horizontal position? C'mon, tuck up. I'll sit with ye until you fall asleep, if you want."

He sniffled and removed his shoes, then slid under the covers fully dressed and turned away.

There was enough room for her, so Alpha took off her own shoes and curled up behind him. She didn't hold him, because she wasn't sure if he would have been comfortable with that at the moment, but she started rubbing his back in between his wings again. She'd noticed that it sometimes had a sedative effect on him, and what he needed now was good sleep.

Instead of falling asleep like she thought he might, he began to cry again. Alpha just kept doing what she was doing, and finally he turned towards her and reached out. Then he hesitated, unsure if he should be doing this while they were lying in his bed. Was there any kind of implication? And at this point, did it even matter? He put his hand over his face instead.

"You can. It's okay." Alpha did what he wasn't brave enough to do and took him in her arms. "Come here, luv."

Without opening his eyes, he gratefully accepted her embrace and returned it. He sniffled and held his breath for a moment, making a last ditch effort to bring himself under control again, but it was no use. His hand still hurt, and his back was in agony. The world outside was just waiting for him, seemingly ready to pounce as soon as he showed himself. And they knew his sister was gone. He would have to face them again. It would resume as soon as he left the Time Bubble. He gave up and sobbed quietly into her chest. "Oh, Alpha..."

"I know..." Finally, Alpha let her own tears fall, but her voice didn't give it away. "My poor, sweet love...I know."

After a while, she began to hum softly; it was a song he didn't know, but it sounded like a lullaby. Almost immediately, he began to quiet down. He had enough presence of mind to realize that this should have been embarrassing for him, having her hum a lullaby to him like someone might do for a child who's just had a night terror, but at that point there was no room in his heart for shame. He simply accepted the comfort she offered him, and thanked any deity who happened to be listening that she was there.

Drowsiness settled over him like a blanket of safety, and he sighed as the cramp between his wings eased up a little. It must have been because he was so tense, and now that the tension was beginning to leave him, so was some of the back pain. Alpha was combing her fingers through his hair again, and he didn't fight it when he began to drift off.

She continued to hum until she was sure he was asleep, and she closed her eyes and nuzzled his hair. It smelled faintly of bergamot and sage, and it was already quite messy from that day's ordeal. You're really going through it, aren't you? And they didn't make it any easier. I'd like to get my hands on some of them...

She had planned on getting up and sneaking downstairs to sleep on his couch, but somehow she had ended up becoming a pillow, and he had even hooked a leg over hers after sleep had claimed him. He was warm and solid, and there was no getting out of that bed without waking him up again.

I'm stuck. Ah, well. When in Rome...

Alpha pulled the duvet up a little more to stave off a chill, adjusted her pillow carefully so as not to wake him, and closed her eyes.

Note: This was not a happy chapter, and it was actually very hard to write, but I think it needed to happen. I had originally planned on having him handle things a lot better, but he still has a lot of unresolved issues he's avoided facing, and it just made sense to me that his peoples' actions, well-meaning as they were, just might have been his tipping point. But he'll make progress in the next chapter, and there might be a bit of fluff to go along with it!