Worlds Away - Chapter Six

Chapter Six: Same Old As the Night Before

Jade awoke groggily to the unfamiliar sensation of a weight holding her down. Squinting into the unfamiliar surroundings, she shifted and realized belatedly that it was not a weight holding her down. It was an arm. A rather warm and muscular arm which was apparently attached to the very warm and muscular body that spooned around behind her. She smiled, still only half-awake, and burrowed back into the warmth and familiar scents of soap and cologne. The familiar scents of --

Recognition dawned and Jade jerked abruptly to a state of full wakefulness. The events of the previous afternoon and evening flooded her memory, and as the small bed -- in fact, the entire room -- lurched and pitched, she realized that she was not waking from a dream, but rather to reality. Staring at a plain wooden wall, the feeling of the ship bobbing gently on the water, and the warmth radiating from Megabyte's hand where it rested on her stomach told her that this was no dream. All right, admittedly the part where she curled up in Megabyte's arms and slept could very well have been pulled right from one of her dreams, but the unfamiliar smells and sounds and the scratchy quilts that lay both beneath and on top of her told her otherwise.

Thankfully, her stomach no longer seemed inclined to crawl up her throat and out her body. Jade let herself lay there, tired in spite of herself. And well ...

Well, despite all the scariness of being in this strange place, she had to admit it was nice being this close to Megabyte. If he were awake, he'd never let her this close and she'd never have the nerve to let herself get this close. Because she knew exactly how he'd react if she ever tried it -- he'd laugh at her. Or freak out. Megabyte had made it clear in so many ways that he had no interest in her as anything but a friend and she had to accept that.

Still, it was nice to pretend.

God, he was so warm. A small thrill went through her at the feel of his strong, solid presence at her back. How many times had she imagined something like this? Okay, well, not exactly like this, but close. More times than she could even remember and yet not one of those times could compare to the immediate sensation of his arms around her, holding her -- in the here and now. Not in some dream world, but in a reality she could reach out and touch ...

Whoa, she caught herself. Don't go there. Don't even think it. Not if you want to leave this room alive.

Well, at least she knew one thing -- she was definitely better. No one could have thoughts like these and be sea sick.

But better or not, she wasn't inclined to leave the warmth and security of his arms just yet. She shifted again, wiggling and snuggling back against him. And then, she froze as he moved, holding her breath in the hope that he would not wake up. Not now.

Someone heard her prayers. Megabyte didn't wake up. Instead, he moved closer, burying his face in her hair, one leg slung over hers.

Now, this was an interesting development. She could get used to this. She could really get used --

Oh, who was she kidding? The minute that Megabyte woke up, it would all be over. And if he even suspected that she had been awake, he would never let her live it down. As if it was her fault that the cabin was a bit cool; as if it was her fault that he naturally seemed to seek out the closest source of warmth and physical contact. It wasn't. It was her fault that she wasn't doing anything about it, but . . .

Carefully, she wiggled again and then froze. Something was poking her in the small of her back. Now, that was completely uncomfortable. Moving gently, with the hopes of not disturbing him, Jade flipped over onto her back. A task easier planned out than performed considering that Megabyte now had her pinned beneath his arm and his leg. Now the hard jabbing was aimed at her hip, but it was no more comfortable than it had been before.

And that was when she realized that he was awake. Barely awake, but awake.

Half a heartbeat later she realized exactly what the jabbing in her hip was.

"Hi," Jade squeaked meekly as a very red-faced Megabyte opened his eyes.

Megabyte scrambled away from her, putting as much distance between them as he possibly could without landing in a heap on the floor. He swung his legs out of bed, his back to her as he raked his hands through his hair. "Yeah, whatever."

"So, I guess, we're still here," Jade hugged the quilt to her chest, wondering why she felt heat and warmth to her face. "Wherever we are."

"Yeah, I guess."

"So, what do we do now?"

"I don't know!" Megabyte snapped as he glanced back over his shoulder at her.

"I'm sorry." Jade recoiled from the force of his words, pressing back against the cabin wall, the quilt still clutched tightly in her hands. She stared down at her lap, swallowing nervously. "I just thought that . . . maybe . . . I don't know."

"Well, kid, I just woke up, so give me a minute, okay?"

His words hit harder this morning than they normally did. Jade felt a lump in her throat and hated herself for it. Still, she managed a feeble protest. "Don't call me that. I'm not a kid."

"Yeah, right, I forgot. You're my wife."

The way he said the words made her bristle. She knew that he was just being Megabyte, trying to cope with his own embarrassment by lashing out at her, but the rationale didn't make her feel any better or make his words sting any less.

"Well, you didn't seem to mind it so much when you were snuggling up to me."

Jade watched as his shoulders visibly tightened beneath his shirt, and then noticed for the first time that he had slept in his clothes -- a shirt and loose breeches. Of course, that was only of secondary import. The first issue was the way he tensed, one hand gripping the quilts beneath him. She recognized the signs and she knew that she was dangerously close to pushing him too far.

"I wasn't *snuggling.* You were the one wrapped around me."

"I didn't have much choice! You were practically sleeping on top of me."

"Oh, yeah, like that would happen. You sure you weren't dreaming?"

"No, but I wish I had been. At least in my dreams you're a lot nicer to me when you wake up." The moment the words crossed her lips, Jade felt all the blood drain from her face. She could not have just said that. She absolutely, positively could not have just said that.

Now, she was in for it. Now, she had given him fodder for something else other than his own embarrassment and she would never, ever hear the end of it.

That was why his next words actually surprised her.

"Jade. Let's just not argue okay?"

"What?"

"We don't have time to argue. We need to figure out what's going on."

"Who are you and what did you do with Megabyte?"

"Geesh! Can't I even back down without you making a big deal out of it?" He leapt off the bed so quickly that Jade felt the vibrations of his feet hitting the cabin floor. When he whirled to look at her, his eyes reflected little more than mild annoyance, his embarrassment completely banished. "I'm trying to be nice here, Jade. Go with it, okay?"

Jade stared at him. "Now I know we're in an alternate universe."

"Oh, very funny. I'm so glad you can stand around and crack jokes at a time
like this," Megabyte bit off. "You're a lot of help, you know that?"

She didn't know why, perhaps because he had shattered whatever moment they had been sharing earlier or because he had been so brusque about it, but his words struck a nerve. More than that. They reminded her of how alone and helpless she felt. She was adrift in a world that was not her own and the one familiar person was the one person she -- well, loved was too strong a word, but adoration came close. Excepting that it was a one-sided adoration, and nothing short of a miracle was going to change that.


God, I hate this, she thought, I just want to wake up.

"No, I don't suppose I am," she replied, her voice small.

"Jade?" he seemed confused.

"Leave me alone, Megabyte," she said, "Please...just leave me alone."

She sat down on the edge of the bed, sinking her face into shaking hands. Though the swell of the floor underneath her wasn't upsetting her stomach, she felt drained. Cold sweat prickled down her neck, threatening to works its way down her spine. She shivered.

"Um, hey. You okay?" Megabyte asked anxiously, coming around the corner of the
bed to sit beside her. Warily.

Seeing that made her laugh, though it came out more like a shaky sob. "Sure, Megabyte, I'm just *great*. I mean, we're lost in some other world. We can't go home. We can't find Ami or Adam. And you hate me. Life's a party."

She knew he didn't hate her, but more than anything right now she needed reassurance. She needed to hear that they were going to get out of this. She needed him to do and say all the things that Adam would have. Then she'd be able to get up and act as if nothing had happened. Then she'd be able to believe that there was a slim chance they might actually get out of this one and that she'd get to see her mum and her friends and London again.

"Jade, I don't hate you. I'm just . . . " he stopped suddenly and she listened as he inhaled and exhaled deeply. "All right, look, it's been a pretty weird night and a pretty -- off -- morning, so why don't we first try and find some breakfast. And then, there are some journals and books and stuff here; I'll read them and see what I can find out.

"I mean, this is King Arthur land, right? Maybe this Marmion guy is a wizard and maybe he left his spell book lying around. Or at least a couple of pairs of ruby slippers."

His words actually made her smile. He wasn't Adam, but for right now, it would do.

Chapter Seven

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