Thanks for the reviews! I figured when I started this it would be 10-12 chapters, but the response was so great I just had to keep going, sometimes to the point I'm afraid it's getting boring. If so, let me know.
A.K. Anomynous: Thanks. Glad you like it. But if you like this one, read 'Beyond The Call of Duty'! Oh, my God, I cried!
Babaksmiles: Remember, Merlin told Laney that if she hadn't opened the heart of Lancelot, someone else would and it would not be good!
Alatarial Elf: I'm trying! Thanks.
Disclaimer: Own nothing as hot as any of the knights (to my sorrow!)
Here we go…
Lancelot had arranged for her to get some water heated and poured into the tub brought into her room. The woman who over saw the duties of the fort 'tsk tsked' when she saw the bruise on Laney's cheek. She left them mumbling under her breath about 'childish behavior in people' and Laney and Lancelot exchanged amused glances. Laney enjoyed the attention she was getting as Lancelot slowly undressed her and watched as she settled into the water. She lay back against the metal side and closed her eyes, enjoying the relaxing feel of the hot water. When she felt the water poured over her head she opened her eyes to find Lancelot holding a pitcher.
"Just relax and let me bathe you." He whispered in an authoritative tone. She silently nodded, wondering just what brought this on. She waited as she watched him lather his hands and proceed to rub the sweet smelling soap into her hair. He kneeled beside the tub and proceeded to gently lather her face and neck. She closed her eyes as she felt his hands move down her arms and upper torso. She held her breath waiting for him to touch her breasts, but he only moved his hands back to her face to gently touch her wounded cheek. When she opened her eyes she saw the look of concern on his face.
"Lance, it really doesn't hurt much." She tried to ease his worry, but his expression never changed as he spoke, "I would never hurt you purposely." He stated simply. "Even if you would have struck me down, I would have still dropped my sword when you were hit. Now do you see why I want to keep you from harm?" His tone still kept the quiet, pained tone and his face never changed. She watched him closely for a moment, looking for any trap he might be setting. Finding no reason to believe he meant anything other than his words, she smiled and said, "I've always known why you wanted to protect me, that was never the argument." She paused to gage his reaction. His expression never changed. "But, you must understand that I was brought here for a purpose and when that purpose comes to light, I can't hide under a rock and let something terrible happen to anyone I've grown to care for." She never let the emotion she was feeling enter her voice, she wanted to keep this discussion open and not let anger enter on either side.
Finally, he attempted a grin as he said, "I want to believe your purpose here was to save me from a life of loneliness. A life without love, without a future of happiness. Until it is proven otherwise, that is what I will believe." Laney put her wet hand up to touch his face. "Lance, no matter what the future holds, know this, we will have loved each other completely during the time we had together. If something happens to either one of us, that knowledge must keep the other going forward. For some reason, the group of people here are important. Important enough for Fate to intervene and insure something happens. Whatever that something is." Lancelot took her hand in his and squeezed it.
"Well, I guess we should continue before the water gets uncomfortably colder." He released her hand and picked up the bar of soap again. "That soap smells so sweet, what is it made from?" she asked. She saw the smile he was trying to hide and raised her eyebrows in question. "I had it specially made just for you. It has several different flowers and some herbs that are supposed to make me irresistible." He teased. Pretending coyness, she whispered. "Like you needed that." His open laughter brought joy to her face and her heart. "Why don't you join me? It'll be a tight squeeze, but I'm sure we can figure out a way."
Her feigned coyness brought a glint of desire into his eyes as he slowly stood up and pulled his shirt over his head. He never broke eye contact as he unfastened his pants and let them fall to the floor. When he was completely naked she took the hand he offered and slowly stood up. He stepped into the tub and as he sat down he pulled her onto his lap. There she spent several minutes just running her hands over his chest and arms. With a low growl, he grabbed her hands to stop the explorations. "Laney, stop, we're here to bathe, remember?" His voice had a raspy quality that let her know how much effort went into his words. He wanted her, that was evident, but he didn't want to hurry and neither did she.
She took the bar of soap he had dropped and began lathering his chest, "Well, if we're here to bathe, we must get started." She didn't look down into his eyes as she felt his gaze move upward to her face. She wanted to look like she was all business when all she really wanted to do was earnestly begin to run her hands over his body. His gorgeous body. The body that made her feel, like the only woman on earth when he made love to her. The intensity of her desire for him never ceased to amaze her. She had always dreamed of a relationship like this, but she had begun to doubt it would ever happen. Strange that she had to travel fifteen hundred years for it to find her.
"The soap is drying," he informed her. She hadn't realized that her hands had stopped as she began to think about their relationship. "I'm sorry, I was just thinking about how much I love you and forgot to finish what I'd started."
The look he gave her was mischievous as he told her, "Well, maybe later, when my skin isn't shriveling so." She had cupped her hands to rinse the soap off his chest when he said the last. She playfully threw the water into his face, then when she saw the evil glint appear in his eyes, she quickly tried to jump up and get out of the water. He was trying to grab her and she was trying to escape when there was a knock at the door. Laney took the opportunity to get away and grabbed a blanket off the bed to wrap up in. Lancelot gave an exasperated look as she yelled, "Come in."
Tristan opened the door and peeked around. "How's your… ?" he began to ask, then he saw Lancelot sitting in the tub in the middle of the floor. He glanced up and saw that Laney was wrapped in a blanket. Her naked shoulders and wet hair spoke of the fact that until his arrival, she had been in the water with him. The sudden surge of anger made the mask he usually wore slip for an instant. Then shaking his head slightly, he pulled his head back around the door and called from the other side, "I just wanted to check on your injury. Are you feeling better?"
Laney laughed out loud at the look she got from Lancelot. "Come on in, Tristan. Lancelot's just about done with his bath." Lancelot threw water at her and she grabbed the pitcher off the table to throw water back at him just as Tristan stepped around into the room. The water missed Lancelot and caught Tristan square in the face. Lancelot gave a shout of glee and Laney looked like she wanted to hide behind someone. "Oh, Tristan, I'm sorry, I was aiming for Lancelot!" she exclaimed. At first he was angry, not at getting wet, it was no different than riding or standing in the rain, but at being caught between one of their lover's 'games'.
"I see you're doing just fine so I guess I'll head out. See you both later." Tristan said without expression as he turned and pulled back out the door, closing it behind himself. Lancelot told her between guffaws, "You're gonna get it now. Just watch your back." His laughter died when she stood up and let the blanket drop. "I could always try to distract him…" she teased. Lancelot mock-scowled as he retorted, "My twin blades say otherwise…" They laughed and Lancelot stood up to get out of the tub. "Come on, let's get ready, and get some food." She gathered her clothes and began dressing. Before long, both were ready to go find something to eat. Laney had completely forgot about the blue knot on her cheek as she smiled all the way down the hall.
They arrived in the kitchen just as Arthur and Dagonet were getting up to leave. When Arthur saw Laney smiling, he stopped and commented to Dagonet, "It seems our new friend heals as quickly as her mentor." Laney blushed at his meaning. Lancelot, on the other hand, found nothing to blush about. "It's amazing how it works that way, isn't it?" Laney gave him a gentle slap on the arm and watched as Dagonet tried to stifle a smile. Then she smiled and looked at Arthur, "A little tender loving care will help anyone heal quickly." Lancelot's look of satisfaction made her wonder what was going through his mind.
The bread and jam was delicious and Laney wondered how her friends would feel about such meager fare. They only wanted to go out to fancy restaurants and order multiple course meals. She on the other hand had always been happy with just enough to satisfy her hunger. Gluttony was not one of her sins. She was licking the jam off her fingers when Tristan walked in. Stopping in mid-lick, she gave him a sheepish look. Dagonet saw the look on her face and gave Lancelot a questioning look. Lancelot broke into a huge grin, "Laney expects retribution soon. It seems her aim is not as good as she thought and Tristan wore the bath water that was meant for me." Laney felt the blush creeping up her cheeks as she defended herself. "You shouldn't have ducked, and you," she pointed at Tristan, "should have been slower at coming into the room." Even Arthur had to laugh at the look on Tristan's face. "Well, you shouldn't have told me to come in." He retorted.
Arthur surprised them all when he asked a seemingly innocent question of the scout. "And just what were you doing asking entrance to a lady's bath?" Tristan almost stammered in his answer, but Laney couldn't let him suffer any longer, "he was inquiring into the state of my injury." Then she saw Tristan glance from her to Lancelot and trying not to be obvious. This made her wonder what was going through his mind. He was one of the only people she could not figure out for certain, there was always a doubt in her mind when she deciphered what she saw in his face. The conversation brought her out of her thoughts. Dagonet was saying something to her but she didn't catch it and had to ask him what he had said. "I just said you were impressive up 'til the point you got 'killed'." His tone was normal but he was giving her a questioning look.
"Oh, thanks Dag. I learned a valuable lesson. I'll never try to keep my eyes on the weapon again. I'll just watch the body language." She pretended not to see his look and looked to find Tristan staring at her. Something was definitely bothering the man, that it had something to do with her was evident, but she couldn't imagine what. "Well, I hate to leave such good company, but I think I'll go see if Vanora needs any help with anything." She really just wanted to give Tristan the chance to speak his mind. She got up and headed out the door. When Lancelot stood up to follow, she held up her hand. "No, you don't have to come, stay and talk to Arthur. I'll be back soon." When she saw him sit back down, she turned and walked back out the door.
She didn't see the look that passed between Arthur and Dag as Lancelot watched her leave. He turned back to Arthur and said, "Guess she just needed some time alone. We have been spending a lot of time together and she thinks I'm trying to smother her to keep her safe." His voice had a sad tone and Arthur commented on it. "Lancelot, you can't watch her all the time. She's fine here in the fortress. Not even Merlin could get to her here. Besides, I don't think she will do anything foolish. She's smarter than that." Lancelot nodded and the conversation halted for a short time. Then, seemingly out of no where, Tristan said, "Well, I've got things to do. Just stopped in to grab some bread and scraps for my bird." He walked over and took the small package that the cooks always kept for him. There would be small bits of left over meat for the hawk.
Laney walked around the courtyard for a few minutes then deciding that Tristan hadn't caught on, she wanted to go somewhere quieter, she went to the stables and saddled her horse. She wanted to ride a little ways south of the wall and sit in the trees there. She knew even Lancelot could find nothing to complain about in her choice. Even the children were allowed to go outside the fortress in the bright light of day, as long as they went south and not anywhere near the north side of the wall. She mounted and pranced her horse around the open hallway of the stable. Even she seemed to be tired of being cooped up and let Laney know how impatient she was to be out and free. Finally, she took the mare out and through the gate. The guard never even stopped her to ask where she was going.