Sara woke warm and safe, Ian's body curled protectively around. She
shifted a little, being careful not to wake him up. She wanted a little
time alone to process what had happened. She was still reeling from the
dream, vision, whatever it was. She looked down at the Witchblade, the
stone swirling lazily in the dark room. Ian was still asleep and she hoped
he would stay that way while she tried to sort it all out. Okay, break it
down, she thought, image by image. Ian confronting Irons, standing up to
him, protecting their right to have a life together, his right to continue
alone. This was all too confusing. She knew things were moving quickly,
too quickly. She was afraid but she could not bring herself to step back.
It was too important, she loved him. God, it was frightening. She wanted
so much for this to work out, but could she face it, learn to let go of
enough of herself? Viewed at a distance he was every mother's dream, rich,
handsome, well mannered. Also dangerous, possibly mentally unstable and a
deadly assassin of the first caliber, genetically modified, drug enhanced,
over-amped, with moves that were occasionally to fast to see. And for all
that he was kind, gentle and strangely innocent in some ways. But then
considering the turn her life had taken, she wasn't too sure about her own
mental state, so who was she to question?
Irons was right, as much as it galled her to admit that the man was right about anything. She had to be careful to neither smother him nor push him too hard. The transition from a life with no control to a life of freedom was not easy, and having to put up with her personality quirks definitely guaranteed them an interesting relationship at best. Already he was starting to discover that. Once the announcement was made, life was going to get even more complicated for both of them. He would be thrust into a limelight that he neither desired nor understood and she had agreed to stand by him, even thought the prospect scared her as well. Great, the homicide cop and the billionaire, it was like something from a bad soap opera. But she had promised him and she did not back out of her promises, no matter what, she was not going to leave him without a fight.
She reached out to caress him. Ian was so beautiful. It was odd, you never really expect a man to be beautiful, especially one so strong. He treated her like a goddess or a queen and that was hard to get used to. And he asked for nothing but to be near her. It was hard to accept that he wanted nothing but what she gave him. He was recovering though, learning to be his own man. One day she might regret wanting him to be more normal. Sara hoped that the two of them could manage to make it work. Ian moved a little, wrapping her more tightly in his arms as she snuggled closer. It was still early, she thought as she drifted back to sleep. There would be time later to worry about everything.
Ian woke to Sara's presence like a diver coming up for air. Given a choice, he thought, I would never wake without her again. But perhaps this was something he should keep to himself. As new as everything was to him, Sara was still cautious about relationships. If he tried too hard, he ran the risk of scaring her away. He knew he had to take things one-step at a time; patience was a virtue which he had spent most of his life cultivating. If he could manage to keep patience with his father all those years, to believe in his destiny enough to keep going, then he could wait until she was ready. He turned to her and pressed her close to him. He watched as her eyes opened slowly to register him next to her. A smile spread over her face and she gave him a look that was more than enough to completely wake him up.
"Morning, love," he whispered. The smile on his face and the look in his eyes was enough to convince her that it had been no dream. What she had seen had happened in some form or fashion. It was a subtle change, something about the way he looked at her, more assured, more confident. But now what? Should she say something to him? She thought about what Irons had said, about him needing to find his strength without her. She still didn't believe that she was taking advice from the man, but in this case he had a point. Neither of them needed that kind of dependency although Ian would give it to her if she asked it, at least he would have before. Now she was not sure, except that the thought had scared her, how close she had come to letting him give himself over to her. Now she was just confused. Perhaps later they could discuss it, much later. He was still looking at her, hand tracing her jaw, relishing his still novel ability to touch.
"Ummmmh?" she murmured, still half asleep and not quite sure what to say. She ridded herself of all the questions in her mind for now, and just enjoyed the soft touch and warm presence next to her. She reached out herself, running her hands through his long curls, treasuring the feel of them against her hand. Something of his pleasure at simple touch seemed to have rubbed off on her. She loved touching him more than she had ever enjoyed the simple task before. She had told Irons the truth, she would take care of him just as he would take care of her, no matter what else happened. This was right.
"You have slept well?" he asked, watching her soft smile and lazy caress.
"Yes, I did," she told him, almost surprised, considering. "I wish we could just spend the day like this."
"There will be many more mornings to do so," he promised. "As many as you like."
"Yes, but not this one," Sara told him, regret tingeing her voice.
"No, not this morning, but we have a little time." The passionate look in his dark eyes told her exactly what was on his mind.
"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow questioningly. For a moment, his confidence was shaken just a little. He wondered if he had gotten his signals crossed, that she was not thinking what he was. The smile reassured him that she was teasing. It pleased him, this new ability to read her body language, her expression, without having to reach for her feelings.
He drew a hand through her hair, pushing it back over her shoulder to give himself a better view of her face. His touch was light as he tried to focus on Sara, not the events of the morning or the challenge of the day ahead, only her.
When the telephone rang some time later, they lay snuggled together enjoying those last few minutes before the day began. Sara rose reluctantly; she knew they needed to get started, as little as either of them wanted to. Ian answered, confirming the need for coffee and breakfast, while Sara slipped from the bed into a robe. Accepting the fact that there were people who knew your every move intellectually was one thing, but having them walk in on you was a real mood killer. She went into the bathroom, moving at a normal morning pace, unlike her desperate flight yesterday. Ian smiled lazily as he rose and pulled on his robe and grabbed a pair of drawstring pants from the drawer. He thought about beginning his kata, he had neglected to do so in the rush yesterday morning and in spite of the exercise he had done, he was feeling a bit remiss in his duties. In spite of all the changes he was going through, he still found that duty was such an ingrained part of his personality that he could not just wave it aside. The knock that heralded the arrival of their breakfast and Sara's life giving coffee made the whole thing moot for the moment and he moved to admit the housekeeper, wondering if Sara was yet again going to remain in the bathroom.
Sara heard the knock at the door as she was finishing splashing a little water on her face, trying to wake up and refocus herself. Oh, well, she thought, another few minutes and she will be gone. The thought startled her a little; it was not like her to avoid situations, no matter how unpleasant. It was not as if they had been anything but nice and supportive of the two of them, no one had given her so much as a dirty look, if anything they all seemed to be going around pleased as punch about the change. So why was she still hiding here in the bathroom, knowing that it she was not fooling anyone but herself, and possibly embarrassing Ian? She certainly didn't want them to think that she was ashamed of her relationship with him. "Ok, then go out and face it, Pezzini," she told her reflection. With a deep breath she walked out of the bathroom to face her own fears. If Irons could accept her and Ian, encourage them even, then she could stop hiding in the bathroom every time one of the staff came around.
Sara exited the bathroom just as Mrs. Hancock was setting down the tray. Ian gave her a questioning look, pleased and surprised that she had emerged. She just gave him a smile and walked over to get her first coffee of the day. She nodded a little to Mrs. Hancock, who gave her a brilliant smile.
"Now, you have yourselves a proper breakfast or I will have to explain to Cook," she said quickly. It was just enough to let Sara know that she had passed some kind of test, that like the other two, Mrs. Hancock had warmed to her, at least a little bit. Sara returned the smile and sat down to enjoy the incredibly good coffee. Going back to drinking the swill that passed for coffee at the station was going to take a lot more effort than she really wanted to think about at this moment. The two of them sat and ate quietly. It's strange, Sara thought, the way we can just sit together comfortably without feeling the need to fill the silence with words. She had never known someone other than her partner who she could be that close to, that could understand when there was nothing that needed to be said. He just knew somehow. Maybe it was something in their connections, or something in their personalities that just made it work. They were so alike in so many ways; both had reason to fear relationships, emotional involvements, him from lack of experience, and her from an inability to let anyone get close, fear of the loss that came from letting people in. This was not going to be easy by any stretch of the imagination.
Ian rose from the table and stretched like a cat, feeling the need to move a bit. Sara enjoyed the sight of him in nothing but the thin robe and some kind of drawstring pants. God, what a sight, she thought with frank appreciation. Her gaze made it hard to think straight but he needed to get back to his routine. The idea came to him and he gave her a wicked smile. "Oh, Sara."
"Yes?" she questioned.
"Perhaps you would care to join me?"
"Doing what?" she asked, a little startled by his boldness. "We don't have huge amounts of time." He gave her the pleased smile of a contented cat as he realized the direction her mind had been taking.
"I was referring to my morning Kata, you so enjoy watching, I thought you might like to participate."
"But, I don't."
"Come, I will show you," he said reaching for her hand to pull her out of the chair.
"Give me a second, I can't exactly do it like this," she said, indicating her current state of dress. She had a pretty good idea that there was no way out of this so she grabbed her shorts and tee shirt as he slipped out of his robe and into a shirt of his own. It was kind of odd, this modesty; it was not like she had not seen him naked before. After the last couple of days she knew his body almost as well as she knew her own. She shrugged it off, probably another one of those things that he would need time for.
She turned and faced him, watching as he moved into his first stance with the grace of a panther. She tried to copy his movement, managing it without him laughing at her at least. He watched and moved to correct her, placing gentle hands on her body to guide her. Deciding that this was a much more satisfactory method of teaching, he moved her through the remaining steps, guiding her with hands and voice. Sara was amazed at the flow as she felt one motion slide into another. She had never considered herself graceful. But when she gave in and relaxed to his guidance it felt like she was gliding, cutting through the air like a dolphin through water, sliding along lines she did not even know existed. As it came to an end she was almost sad. She felt relaxed, stretched and centered in a way that was new to her, almost as if their moves together had merged them into something new. She was pleasantly surprised. Danny had spent years trying to convince her to learn something like this, but she had never felt that she was capable, or if she were honest with herself, that it was necessary. Now Ian had shown her something special, a kind of intimacy that was no way sexual but at the same time brought them closer together. It was a little unnerving, but left her wanting more.
"Wow," she said, trying to refocus herself on the world, the room and all the tasks of the day.
"And now."
"Yes?" she asked, wondering what else he could have in mind.
"A shower," he told her, as he stepped away from her and headed into the bathroom, confident that she would follow.
Irons was right, as much as it galled her to admit that the man was right about anything. She had to be careful to neither smother him nor push him too hard. The transition from a life with no control to a life of freedom was not easy, and having to put up with her personality quirks definitely guaranteed them an interesting relationship at best. Already he was starting to discover that. Once the announcement was made, life was going to get even more complicated for both of them. He would be thrust into a limelight that he neither desired nor understood and she had agreed to stand by him, even thought the prospect scared her as well. Great, the homicide cop and the billionaire, it was like something from a bad soap opera. But she had promised him and she did not back out of her promises, no matter what, she was not going to leave him without a fight.
She reached out to caress him. Ian was so beautiful. It was odd, you never really expect a man to be beautiful, especially one so strong. He treated her like a goddess or a queen and that was hard to get used to. And he asked for nothing but to be near her. It was hard to accept that he wanted nothing but what she gave him. He was recovering though, learning to be his own man. One day she might regret wanting him to be more normal. Sara hoped that the two of them could manage to make it work. Ian moved a little, wrapping her more tightly in his arms as she snuggled closer. It was still early, she thought as she drifted back to sleep. There would be time later to worry about everything.
Ian woke to Sara's presence like a diver coming up for air. Given a choice, he thought, I would never wake without her again. But perhaps this was something he should keep to himself. As new as everything was to him, Sara was still cautious about relationships. If he tried too hard, he ran the risk of scaring her away. He knew he had to take things one-step at a time; patience was a virtue which he had spent most of his life cultivating. If he could manage to keep patience with his father all those years, to believe in his destiny enough to keep going, then he could wait until she was ready. He turned to her and pressed her close to him. He watched as her eyes opened slowly to register him next to her. A smile spread over her face and she gave him a look that was more than enough to completely wake him up.
"Morning, love," he whispered. The smile on his face and the look in his eyes was enough to convince her that it had been no dream. What she had seen had happened in some form or fashion. It was a subtle change, something about the way he looked at her, more assured, more confident. But now what? Should she say something to him? She thought about what Irons had said, about him needing to find his strength without her. She still didn't believe that she was taking advice from the man, but in this case he had a point. Neither of them needed that kind of dependency although Ian would give it to her if she asked it, at least he would have before. Now she was not sure, except that the thought had scared her, how close she had come to letting him give himself over to her. Now she was just confused. Perhaps later they could discuss it, much later. He was still looking at her, hand tracing her jaw, relishing his still novel ability to touch.
"Ummmmh?" she murmured, still half asleep and not quite sure what to say. She ridded herself of all the questions in her mind for now, and just enjoyed the soft touch and warm presence next to her. She reached out herself, running her hands through his long curls, treasuring the feel of them against her hand. Something of his pleasure at simple touch seemed to have rubbed off on her. She loved touching him more than she had ever enjoyed the simple task before. She had told Irons the truth, she would take care of him just as he would take care of her, no matter what else happened. This was right.
"You have slept well?" he asked, watching her soft smile and lazy caress.
"Yes, I did," she told him, almost surprised, considering. "I wish we could just spend the day like this."
"There will be many more mornings to do so," he promised. "As many as you like."
"Yes, but not this one," Sara told him, regret tingeing her voice.
"No, not this morning, but we have a little time." The passionate look in his dark eyes told her exactly what was on his mind.
"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow questioningly. For a moment, his confidence was shaken just a little. He wondered if he had gotten his signals crossed, that she was not thinking what he was. The smile reassured him that she was teasing. It pleased him, this new ability to read her body language, her expression, without having to reach for her feelings.
He drew a hand through her hair, pushing it back over her shoulder to give himself a better view of her face. His touch was light as he tried to focus on Sara, not the events of the morning or the challenge of the day ahead, only her.
When the telephone rang some time later, they lay snuggled together enjoying those last few minutes before the day began. Sara rose reluctantly; she knew they needed to get started, as little as either of them wanted to. Ian answered, confirming the need for coffee and breakfast, while Sara slipped from the bed into a robe. Accepting the fact that there were people who knew your every move intellectually was one thing, but having them walk in on you was a real mood killer. She went into the bathroom, moving at a normal morning pace, unlike her desperate flight yesterday. Ian smiled lazily as he rose and pulled on his robe and grabbed a pair of drawstring pants from the drawer. He thought about beginning his kata, he had neglected to do so in the rush yesterday morning and in spite of the exercise he had done, he was feeling a bit remiss in his duties. In spite of all the changes he was going through, he still found that duty was such an ingrained part of his personality that he could not just wave it aside. The knock that heralded the arrival of their breakfast and Sara's life giving coffee made the whole thing moot for the moment and he moved to admit the housekeeper, wondering if Sara was yet again going to remain in the bathroom.
Sara heard the knock at the door as she was finishing splashing a little water on her face, trying to wake up and refocus herself. Oh, well, she thought, another few minutes and she will be gone. The thought startled her a little; it was not like her to avoid situations, no matter how unpleasant. It was not as if they had been anything but nice and supportive of the two of them, no one had given her so much as a dirty look, if anything they all seemed to be going around pleased as punch about the change. So why was she still hiding here in the bathroom, knowing that it she was not fooling anyone but herself, and possibly embarrassing Ian? She certainly didn't want them to think that she was ashamed of her relationship with him. "Ok, then go out and face it, Pezzini," she told her reflection. With a deep breath she walked out of the bathroom to face her own fears. If Irons could accept her and Ian, encourage them even, then she could stop hiding in the bathroom every time one of the staff came around.
Sara exited the bathroom just as Mrs. Hancock was setting down the tray. Ian gave her a questioning look, pleased and surprised that she had emerged. She just gave him a smile and walked over to get her first coffee of the day. She nodded a little to Mrs. Hancock, who gave her a brilliant smile.
"Now, you have yourselves a proper breakfast or I will have to explain to Cook," she said quickly. It was just enough to let Sara know that she had passed some kind of test, that like the other two, Mrs. Hancock had warmed to her, at least a little bit. Sara returned the smile and sat down to enjoy the incredibly good coffee. Going back to drinking the swill that passed for coffee at the station was going to take a lot more effort than she really wanted to think about at this moment. The two of them sat and ate quietly. It's strange, Sara thought, the way we can just sit together comfortably without feeling the need to fill the silence with words. She had never known someone other than her partner who she could be that close to, that could understand when there was nothing that needed to be said. He just knew somehow. Maybe it was something in their connections, or something in their personalities that just made it work. They were so alike in so many ways; both had reason to fear relationships, emotional involvements, him from lack of experience, and her from an inability to let anyone get close, fear of the loss that came from letting people in. This was not going to be easy by any stretch of the imagination.
Ian rose from the table and stretched like a cat, feeling the need to move a bit. Sara enjoyed the sight of him in nothing but the thin robe and some kind of drawstring pants. God, what a sight, she thought with frank appreciation. Her gaze made it hard to think straight but he needed to get back to his routine. The idea came to him and he gave her a wicked smile. "Oh, Sara."
"Yes?" she questioned.
"Perhaps you would care to join me?"
"Doing what?" she asked, a little startled by his boldness. "We don't have huge amounts of time." He gave her the pleased smile of a contented cat as he realized the direction her mind had been taking.
"I was referring to my morning Kata, you so enjoy watching, I thought you might like to participate."
"But, I don't."
"Come, I will show you," he said reaching for her hand to pull her out of the chair.
"Give me a second, I can't exactly do it like this," she said, indicating her current state of dress. She had a pretty good idea that there was no way out of this so she grabbed her shorts and tee shirt as he slipped out of his robe and into a shirt of his own. It was kind of odd, this modesty; it was not like she had not seen him naked before. After the last couple of days she knew his body almost as well as she knew her own. She shrugged it off, probably another one of those things that he would need time for.
She turned and faced him, watching as he moved into his first stance with the grace of a panther. She tried to copy his movement, managing it without him laughing at her at least. He watched and moved to correct her, placing gentle hands on her body to guide her. Deciding that this was a much more satisfactory method of teaching, he moved her through the remaining steps, guiding her with hands and voice. Sara was amazed at the flow as she felt one motion slide into another. She had never considered herself graceful. But when she gave in and relaxed to his guidance it felt like she was gliding, cutting through the air like a dolphin through water, sliding along lines she did not even know existed. As it came to an end she was almost sad. She felt relaxed, stretched and centered in a way that was new to her, almost as if their moves together had merged them into something new. She was pleasantly surprised. Danny had spent years trying to convince her to learn something like this, but she had never felt that she was capable, or if she were honest with herself, that it was necessary. Now Ian had shown her something special, a kind of intimacy that was no way sexual but at the same time brought them closer together. It was a little unnerving, but left her wanting more.
"Wow," she said, trying to refocus herself on the world, the room and all the tasks of the day.
"And now."
"Yes?" she asked, wondering what else he could have in mind.
"A shower," he told her, as he stepped away from her and headed into the bathroom, confident that she would follow.