The Mission From Hell
Chapter 6
"Never Again"
By: Deep Shadows and EckoStalker
Author's Notes: This Chapter caused a lot of stress upon EckoStalker, seeing as She has made Alexis loathe Severus with all her might... I of course, just completely bypassed that and she hated me for almost to weeks... Then she read how good i made the plot...(I was in charge of this chapter...)
Into the third week of the mission, Alexis and Severus had actually become more accustomed to each other's presence and random acts of affection from each other. The problem was that now with them being spied upon; they could only go on single missions, one staying home to occupy the watchers. Severus had just returned from an overly hectic mission, involving Rottweilers and fences. He had also managed to get Alexis her liquor from the store on his way home like she had asked. After this night though, he wished the dogs would have gotten him.
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Alexis looked up as Severus walked into the Kitchen doorway, looking paler than usual and very shaky. She raised an eyebrow as she looked him up and down, and he held up a brown paper bag which no doubt contained her liquor.
"What happened to you?" She asked and he shook his head, speaking in a slightly trembling voice. "Dogs..."
"Ah. Never mind." She got up and silently took the bag, speaking lowly. "Um, why don't you go change and we'll talk about it over a glass or two, okay?"
Severus didn't say anything, merely nodding and turning to the bedroom. Alexis set her bag down; following him and reckoning she might as well change and get out the rest of her stash, knowing that she was going to need it to deal with Severus tonight. As he changed in the bathroom, Alexis donned a sports bra and a button up pajama blouse with matching pants in the bedroom, retrieving her other three bottles of hard liquor from her suitcase and retreating back to the Kitchen, taking down a shot glass and setting it next to a bottle.
Severus appeared a few minutes later, plopping on the chair next to her, setting a wine bottle and a glass on the table in front of him. Alexis shook her head, popping the top on one of her bottles and quickly downing a shot before turning to Severus, who had poured himself a full glass of dark red wine and was sipping it slowly.
She sighed, folding her hands in front of her, holding the shot glass as she looked at Severus. "So, tell me about it."
Severus looked at her and sighed deeply. But before he could start, Alexis put up a finger and spoke. "Wait one second." She put aside her shot glass and pulled over her bottle, downing a long swig of that, knowing she'd need it. She made a face as it burned down her throat, settling hotly in her stomach as she sighed, shaking her head and looking to Severus once more, speaking with a smile. "Okay, go on."
He rolled his eyes and took a deep breath as he started reluctantly. "Okay, it started off I was just walking along. I was quiet, and I swear I didn't trip any alarms, I know I didn't, but these beasts, they don't need any alarms."
Alexis nodded, grabbing her bottle and taking another distracting swig. Yep, this is going to be real interesting... She grumbled mentally to herself as Severus glared half heartedly, then shook his head and continued.
"Well, I was almost to the... store, I was taking the back yard routes, to avoid crowds, when all of a sudden, these four, could've been eight, could've been any number more than one, monsters appeared out of nowhere right behind me. And these weren't just dogs, these were bloody demons, dogs can't get this big..."
"Big dogs... really..." Alexis mused, only half listening and stifling a yawn as she took another long drink from the liquor bottle, head starting to swim with the movement.
Severus glared for a moment, growling lowly. "You're not even comprehending what I'm saying are you."
Alexis looked at him with feigned indignance as she protested. "I am too. Big dogs, appearing out of nowhere. Go on, I'm listening." Your constant mindless babble is mixing quite well with the vodka...
Severus rolled his eyes, and then asked curiously. "How many of those bottles do you have?"
"What, besides these three?" She asked with a beginning of a slur, the alcohol starting to seep into the working parts of her brain.
"Yes, besides those three." Severus grumbled, and Alexis shrugged. "I dunno, maybe four or five more."
"Good. Then give me one. This wine isn't cutting it." He spoke, taking one of the unopened bottles and grabbing her shot glass. Alexis shrugged and didn't argue, figuring he'd be more tolerable as a drunk, continuing to drink from her own bottle as Severus downed a few shots and continued on with his narration.
"Better. Well these beasts start this loud, vicious, 'I'm-going-to-tear-you-into-itty-bitty-pieces' barking and start chasing me! Well, like any sensible person, I start running... that is, until I come to a fence. These things people affectionately call dogs are almost on top of me, so I end up having to vault over this damn barbed wire fence, nearly ripping my leg off."
"Ripping legs... is that so..." Alexis mumbled, swishing the remainder of the alcohol in her bottle around and wondering how many shot glasses it could fill. She shrugged with carelessness, downing it and looking at Severus with a wide and innocent grin.
She saw him sigh, shaking his head and staring at his bottle with thought. Shrugging as well, he tipped it back and took a long swig, Alexis laughing and patting him on the back as she slurred. "Now that's the spirit..."
He choked slightly on his drink as she did so, and she merely laughed at him some more as he glared at her. Might as well make the most out of this living hell while we're stuck here...
Alexis thought, and then scolded when she realized Severus had stopped talking. "You didn't finish your story!"
Severus stared at her with some sort of amusement, and then spoke. "Fine. Then I went to the store, bought your liquor, and ran back home. The End, that good enough?"
Alexis nodded with approval as Severus tipped his head back, chugging a few nice gulps of the liquor as Alexis fumbled to open her second bottle, downing a swig. She leaned back in her chair contentedly, thinking that the world wasn't that bad a place when alcohol was involved, as Severus leaned back in his seat as well, sighing with satisfaction as he occasionally tipped his bottle back, both content in their silent wasted-ness.
They went on like that for the better part of half a bottle of liquor each, and Alexis felt that something else was needed in this mix of comfortable drunkenness. She stared into the mesmerizing watery depths of her bottle of liquor as a hum welled in her throat, and Severus looked at her with blurred, curious eyes.
Alexis snickered, her humming then turning into slightly comprehensible verses. "Yo ho, yo ho... a pirate's life for me... We're rascals and scoundrels, villains and knaves... drink up me hearties yo ho..." She sang softly, and Severus snickered beside her, and she grinned widely as she took another long drink. After a moment of deep thought, she remembered the rest of the words and finished the stanza of the song. "We're devils and black sheep, really bad eggs..."
But another voice finished the line for her, Severus singing quietly as he stared at his bottle. "Drink up me hearties yo ho..."
Alexis looked at him, and he looked at her, then busted up laughing, almost sloshing their liquor onto the floor. Alexis wiped the tears of laughter out of her eyes, taking another swig of her alcohol, meanwhile feeling Severus's eyes on her. She set her bottle back down, looking to him curiously with a small smile and he smirked, shaking his head. Okay, he's weird... but as least he's not being an ass anymore...
Alexis shrugged, and Severus leaned forward, intent of re-corking his half empty wine bottle he had left there. He fumbled with the cork, managing to stopper it, but then clumsily knocking it to the linoleum floor. Alexis set her bottle down, leaning forward as she slurred. "Don't worry, I've got it..."
Severus leaned down at the same time, also speaking. "No, it's okay..."
Alexis grasped the bottle first though, and was on her way to sitting back up with a large hand gently cupped her chin, lifting her face slightly. She looked up with wide, curious green eyes into the thoughtful face of Severus, but only briefly as the man leaned forward, grazing her lips with his own in a soft kiss.
Alexis stiffened slightly with surprise, but her alcohol-induced stupor washed away all coherent thought and she kissed back, lost in her swimming mind and dropping the wine bottle back on the floor. Severus leaned back slightly after a moment, his coal black eyes shining, and she thought druggedly with a small smile as her emerald eyes glazed over with incomprehension. Wow, Ron needs to get out in the sun more... he's looking awfully pale...
Then Severus leaned in again, Alexis leaning forward eagerly as well as he cupped her face, kissing her once again with more passion, Alexis closing her eyes blissfully, realizing how much she had missed the affection.
Their kiss deepened, Severus pulling her off of her chair onto his lap as Alexis wrapped her arms around his neck, hands wrapped in his hair, Alexis vaguely wondering when Ron had taken the time to grow it out.
Leaning forward into her zealously, he shoved her slightly off balance and she slipped off his lap onto one knee on the floor, Severus leaning down, never breaking their kiss as Alexis held onto him, and not allowing him to let up. He slowly lowered himself to the floor on his knees as well, both hands cupping her flushed face as Alexis fumbled at the bottom of his shirt with numb fingers, growling at the inconvenience of such garments at times in her swimming mind. He leaned back momentarily, pulling it off quickly and Alexis admired with impressed curiousness Ron's new build, but being quickly distracted as he moved back in and kissed Alexis's neck softly, making her shiver all over as she smiled druggedly with hooded eyes, the kissing turning into tempting nibbles along her neck and collarbone.
She felt hands behind her back presently, and she was leaned back onto the cold floor. She gasped slightly at its coldness, but it was stolen away from her as Severus kissed her once again passionately, Alexis drawing her nails over his warm chest as she kissed back fervently, tracing the warm muscles under her hands. She felt fingers fumbling at the buttons of her pajama blouse, cold air tickling her bare stomach as the blouse were pulled open to reveal her sports bra, her breathing quickening.
But just as suddenly as this odd and vivid dream had occurred, it was painfully ripped away from her as a shrill scream echoed through the Kitchen, driving spikes into her drunken mind she snapped her eyes open in shock.
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Severus sighed in relief as he reached the door of the apartment, having just managed to calm his breathing. He hated dogs; he really, really, REALLY hated dogs. He stepped into the house and moved toward the lighted kitchen, knowing Alexis was waiting for her bottle of vodka. He was shaky and jumpy and he knew he was going to need a good glass of wine after that mission. Alexis raised an eyebrow as she looked him up and down, and he held up a brown paper bag that held her beverage.
"What happened to you?" She asked and he shook his head at her.
"Dogs..." He replied in a slightly trembling voice. She got up and took the bag from him, speaking lowly.
"Um, why don't you go change and we'll talk about it over a glass or two, okay?" She stated and he nodded and turned toward the bedroom. He entered the bathroom with his clothes and grimaced at his sliced leg. He hated dogs. Really, really hated dogs. He bandaged it, shaking his head as he left the bathroom. He grabbed his bottle of wine and walked into the kitchen, grabbing as glass on his way to the table. Alexis had changed into her pajamas and shook her head as she downed a shot of the clear liquid. Severus poured himself a glass of wine, sipping it slowly. She sighed; folding her hands in front of her as she looked at him with what he knew was false concern.
"So, tell me about it."
He looked at her and sighed, not wanting to talk about it, but wanting to at the same time. He went to begin but Alexis interrupted him by holding up her finger.
"Wait one second." She stated as she proceeded to down a chug of the liquid straight from the bottle. If Severus hadn't been so shaken up he would have glared at her for her bad manners.
"Okay, go on."
He rolled his eyes at her and took another deep breath as he began to tell his tale of his mission.
"Okay, it started off I was just walking along. I was quiet, and I swear I didn't trip any alarms, I know I didn't, but these beasts, they don't need any alarms." He stated the memory coming fresh in his mind. Alexis just nodded at him as she took another swig out of her bottle. Severus glared at her as he sipped his wine as he continued, shaking his head.
"Well, I was almost to the... store, I was taking the backyard routes, to avoid crowds, when all of a sudden, these four, could've been eight, could've been any number more than one, monsters appeared out of nowhere right behind me. And these weren't just dogs, these were bloody demons, dogs can't get this big..." He rambled off, the fear of the ruddy beasts filling him once again.
"Big dogs... really..." Alexis mused at him, trying to hide a yawn as she took another long drink from the liquor bottle.
Severus glared at her for a moment, growling lowly. "You're not even comprehending what I'm saying are you." He demanded, thinking to himself.
She wouldn't even notice if I told her purple monkeys were swimming in her bottle... He thought with mildly calming humor. Alexis looked at him with indignance as she protested his assumption.
"I am too. Big dogs, appearing out of nowhere. Go on, I'm listening." She declared and he rolled his eyes. Looking at the wine glass in his hand and then the bottle in hers, he decided that getting drunk was the only way to get the nagging feeling that eight or so vicious dogs were lurking around the corner, ready to rip him to shreds.
"How many of those bottles do you have?" He asked Alexis curiously and she looked at the bottle on the table.
"What, besides these three?" She stated with a slur and he was jealous of her utter lack of understanding.
"Yes, besides those three." Severus grumbled at her, and she shrugged at him with confusion.
"I dunno, maybe four or five more." She replied and he decided that he was going to join her in her drunken stupor. At least then he wouldn't have to worry about nightmares.
"Good. Then give me one. This wine isn't cutting it." He demanded, snatching one of the unopened bottles and stealing the shot glass. She simply shrugged at him, continuing to drink from her own bottle as he downed a few shots. He smirked as the liquid burned all the way down and he continued his narration.
"Better. Well these beasts start this loud, vicious, 'I'm-going-to-tear-you-into-itty-bitty-pieces' barking and start chasing me! Well, like any sensible person, I start running... that is, until I come to a fence. These things people affectionately call dogs are almost on top of me, so I end up having to vault over this damn barbed wire fence, nearly ripping my leg off." He grimaced as he thought of how bad his leg was going to feel in the morning.
"Ripping legs... is that so..." Alexis mumbled to him, swishing the remainder of the alcohol in her bottle around, looking at it dreamily. After a moment she shrugged as if agreeing with her bottle and she finished it, looking at Severus with a wide grin.
He sighed as he stared at his bottle. If he chugged it he would be drunker faster, but have a worse hangover. If he sipped it, it would take him all night to get drunk and he would have a lesser hangover. He decided to deal with the worse hangover. He tipped the bottle back and welcomed the sweet burn as the liquor sent his innards on fire. He nearly choked though as Alexis smacked him on the back.
"Now that's the spirit..." She slurred drunkenly and he glared at her as she laughed at him.
"You didn't finish your story!" She whined and Severus looked at her in amusement, wondering why he had started it in the first place. It's not like she was listening.
"Fine. Then I went to the store, bought your liquor, and ran back home. The End, that good enough?" Severus questioned and she nodded as he tipped back his alcohol, taking about an eighth of a bottle down. Alexis opened another bottle and leaned back in comfort. Severus looked at her and mimicked her comfortable position as he commenced the drink of his bottle.
Every now and again, he would sigh in the satisfaction of good vodka as they sat in drunken silence for half of his bottle, that being his only frame of time for the moment.
They were silent for quite some time, but Severus was fine with that. The less noise the more he could concentrate on getting his bottle to his mouth, not that he needed to focus...yet. Suddenly Alexis began humming and Severus looked at her with his blurred vision, wondering what she was doing now. She snickered at him and her humming became singing.
"Yo ho, yo ho... a pirate's life for me... We're rascals and scoundrels, villains and knaves... drink up me hearties yo ho..." She sang softly and he snickered at her childish antics. She grinned widely as she took another long drink from her bottle.
After a moment, she started to finish the song. Severus knew the song but just couldn't remember the words.
"We're devils and black sheep, really bad eggs..." She sang and the next verse came to him and he spoke it before she could get to it, almost singing before she finished.
"Drink up me hearties yo ho..." He sung out as Alexis looked at him, and he looked at her. Suddenly he found himself laughing loudly with her, almost spilling his vodka. He watched Alexis swim in his vision as she wiped her eyes and he was hit with an odd sensation, which he pushed away carelessly. He thought that sensation might have been precaution, but who needed precaution right now.
Alexis set her bottle back down and looked at him with a small smile and he smirked, shaking his head, though he had no idea why he was smirking.
She shrugged at him and he noticed his bottle of wine was still uncorked on the table. He leaned forward, determined to cork it before he passed out. He managed after a long time of struggling with the top of the slender bottle. After he had it closed, he then managed to knock it to the floor between himself and Alexis.
"Don't worry, I've got it..." She slurred drunkenly as she set her bottle down.
"No, it's okay..." He stated as leaned down at the same time, also slurring greatly.
He stopped and looked at the woman beside him, her hair cascading over her face tauntingly and he was hit with a sudden impulse to kiss her. He pushed it aside immediately and then that ever dreaded 'other' voice in his head chided him hauntingly.
You are scared... A bonafide chicken... The other voice taunted and Severus's drunken reply to that was simply; I'll show you chicken...
He reached forward then and gently cupped her face in his hand, lifting her to face him as he kissed her softly. After a moment, she kissed him back and he smugly reminded the 'other' voice that he proved himself wrong. Severus leaned back and looked at the woman before him and suddenly he couldn't remember who she was. As strange as that seemed to him, something else just moved that revelation aside.
Oh well... Severus thought to himself as he leaned in and kissed the woman again with more passion. He pulled her from her chair onto his lap, holding her to him as she wrapped he arms around his neck, wrapping her hands in his hair.
Leaning forward into her, he made her teeter slightly off balance and she slipped off his lap. He leaned down with her, never breaking their kiss for a moment. He slowly lowered himself from the chair on to his knees on the floor, his hands cupping the face of the woman he was kissing. It had been far too long since he had been kissed in such a fashion, far too long.
He felt her fumbling with his shirt and he leaned back, ripping it off quickly as he leaned down and claimed her neck as his prize with his lips, then nipping at her teasingly. He lowered her gently to the ground and she shivered beneath him as he tasted her skin. She gasped out and he silenced her with a flame-fueled kiss.
Severus tensed at the sensation of her nails biting the flesh of his bare chest and he sighed in their kiss. He began to fumble with the buttons of her blouse with urgency, wanting to feel her bare skin under his fingertips, wanting to make her shiver under his touch. He undid the blouse, opening it quickly as he had his eyes closed, enjoying the sensation of human warmth, and just as he was about to run his hands over the smooth skin of her stomach, a scream pierced his mind and brought him back to that scary place called reality.
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Neither horror flick nor terrifying nightmare in the world would've prepared Alexis for the state she found herself in after that blessed scream jogged her drunken, hallucinating senses.
With wide, fearful eyes, she gazed up at Severus, shirtless and kneeling above her with his knees on either side of her, one hand still resting slightly on what she realized with a shiver was her bare stomach, his other entwined in her hair. She tensed up, breath coming in short panicked breaths as Severus stared down at her with equal shock, shaking his head as he stared at her.
Oh my god oh my god oh my god... Was the only coherent thought that ran through her fear numbed and now sober mind as a scream welled up in her throat, and she pushed Severus up off of her as he jumped away also. Alexis scrambled backwards on the floor until her back hit a wall, eyes wide and trembling as she brought her knees up, hugging them to her as she fought to control her panicked breathing, staring at Severus who was standing, backed against the opposite wall, chest heaving with gasping breaths as well.
It was then Alexis noticed the two other forms in the Kitchen doorway. She looked slightly up and saw Vicky Adkins and Erica Barton, two of Artimis and Alexis's American wizard friends, standing there, a look of fury of Erica's face, while Vicky was slightly green. Vicky looked between them once more, slapped a hand over her mouth and dived out of sight, retching noises following her retreat.
Erica practically bristled with anger as she let her glare sweep from Severus to Alexis, screaming loudly. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT! I here that you're in town and come to visit, to find you LIKE THIS? YOU SICK SICK PEOPLE!"
Severus was shaking his head frantically, speaking up in a trembling voice as he looked at the woman almost pleadingly. 'Erica, this was not suppos-"
"I don't want to here any damn excuses! There IS no excuse for something like this! Alexis, you're MARRIED! And Severus... you're not supposed to have any kind of love life, especially with Alexis!" She continued to rant as Vicky staggered back into the room, looking slightly less green.
She glared at Severus, and then saw the alcohol bottles, and her sickened expression also turned to one of anger. "This is so sick! Severus, you get Alexis drunk and do THIS! What kind of person are you!" She wailed and Severus looked at Alexis with his own sickened and terrified expression, shaking his head.
Alexis was still too freaked out to speak up, trying to keep herself from hyperventilating as she trembled, curled up against the wall and shaking her head at the whole predicament.
I was drunk, but was I honestly THAT drunk that I let him get that far? And I actually thought he was RON! What the hell was really in that drink! Alexis mentally screamed at herself as Erica surveyed the beer bottles and then glared at Alexis.
"Alexis! You get Severus drunk and do this! What about Ron?" she accused, her crush on Severus apparently taking over her common sense. Alexis would die before ever starting something like this. Severus had made the first move, not she, never she... right?
Vicky looked at Erica with indignance as she scolded. "Alexis couldn't do such a thing. Severus on the other hand..."
"You're not helping this any Vicky! The fact is, they're both drunk and were about to do god-knows-what on the Kitchen floor!" Erica screamed, Alexis burying her head in her arms, wishing that this was all a very vivid, very bad, nightmare and that she would up at any moment to Ron's comforting arms and soothing voice. But until then, she sat on the cold kitchen floor, feeling violated to the point that she thought she would need a lifetime of therapy to get that image out of her mind.
Vicky and Erica were simmering in silent rage for a few seconds, Severus having slid down to sit on the floor, elbows on his knees as he held his head in his hands, looking dejected and embarrassed.
Vicky gasped at a revelation, Erica looking at her in confusion as she spoke out with unbelief. "No one would tell us why you two left the Manor, nor did any of them know where you were at exactly... does this mean... you ran away together?"
Alexis and Severus's heads both shot up at once, wide eyed looks of fear on their faces. Alexis knew that conclusions would be jumped upon, but this was downright ridiculous. Run away, with Severus!
She mumbled to herself with unbelief then, shaking her head as she lowered her head back down. "This is it. Hell has finally frozen over, and I'm stuck smack dab in the middle of it... funny, I always imagined the Kitchen would look like this..."
Erica hissed in a venomous tone, glaring at both of them. "You ran away to be together because no one would approve of it at the Manor! Oh my god, you people are messed up! Wait till I tell Artimis about this..."
Alexis actually laughed at that one, a nervous almost hysterical laugh, but a laugh nonetheless, invoking confused stares from the other people. Oh yes, let Artimis know... I'll start calling around now to find a nice, dark, padded cell to lock myself in for the next fifty years... She thought to herself, still trembling.
Erica grabbed Vicky's arm with fury, backing out of the Kitchen as she hissed. "I hope you two have fun while you still can. I have no choice but to tell the others, you brought this on yourselves... come on Vicky, we're going to England..."
Vicky followed her friend out, shaking her head in unbelief as they both left the apartment, leaving the other two people in silence. Alexis remained curled against the wall with her head buried in her cold arms as her chest heaved, thinking that maybe she could sit there like that for the rest of the mission, then go find that cell.
Presently after about fifteen minutes in that position, she felt a hand barely brush across her arm, and she flinched back, looking up as she hollered.
"Don't touch me! Just... don't, touch me..." She spoke with a trembling voice as she stared at Severus fearfully, who had backed up quickly from her.
He looked at her with a bit of concern, then at the floor, looking at a loss for a moment. He found his voice finally and spoke lowly. "Um... w, why don't you get the shower firs-"
"Yes. Then I'm drugging myself and going to sleep. And I don't care what they think; I'm not sleeping next to you tonight." Alexis spoke shakily, pulling herself to her feet shakily and not looking at him once, heading to the bathroom with every intent of scrubbing and bleaching her skin and brushing her teeth until all the toothpaste and mouthwash ran out. Gazing at herself in the mirror with red rimmed eyes, she shuddered as she gazed upon the red marks along her neck and shoulders, swallowing back her disgust. Oh my god... I can't BELIEVE that just happened... I think now's the time I should run away; I'll never hear the end of this at the Manor... She thought sorrowfully to herself as she finally exited the bathroom after a long scorching shower. Severus stalked right past her, and she made sure not to look at him as she stumbled into the Kitchen, finding some tea left in the pot. She downed it, shivering at the warm tingling through her body, then returning to the bedroom, curling into a ball on the bed. She was going to sleep,and she didn't care what Severus did now, as long as it didn't concern her.
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Azkaban... That was the only thing Severus could think of that would have been worse. And at the moment, Azkaban was looking pretty good to him as he senses were brought back to him. The image before him was enough to sober even the drunkest man.
Alexis was lying under him, her shirt opened to him to reveal her horrifyingly scanty sports bra as he rested a hand on her stomach and another gently held her head of snow white hair.
Oh my god! What the hell was I thinking!... Severus thought as he looked down at Alexis in shock, seeing her tense up at him in realization. Severus shook his head at himself.
We almost... Oh my god... If we hadn't... Wait, who was it that screamed?... Severus thought to himself, trying to force logical thought onto himself. Severus went to force himself back and away as Alexis pushed him and they both succeeded in hitting the opposite walls whiles she screamed, merely sending more lances of pain through his mind. Severus's lungs burned and he thought that he might even cry. This was just that damn scary. His chest heaved as he fought for control of his breathing, wondering whose sick nightmare this was, his or hers.
Severus heard a movement across the kitchen and as he looked that direction, he thought Azkaban was looking like a freaking Ritz Hotel. Vicky Adkins and Erica Barton were standing there, two more banes of his existence, both having completely different emotions splayed on their faces. There was a look of fury of Erica's face, while Vicky was slightly green and looking on the edge of vomiting. Vicky looked between them once more, slapped a hand over her mouth and dived out of sight, retching noises following her retreat. Severus could understand that point of view, which was how he felt right now.
Severus watched as Erica practically bristled with anger as she let her glare sweep from Alexis to himself, screaming loudly.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT! I here that you're in town and come to visit, to find you LIKE THIS? YOU SICK SICK PEOPLE!" Her high pitched voice assaulted his ears. Severus shook his head, trying to find the voice that was so eluding him.
"Erica, this was not suppos-" His voice trembled out greatly, sounding nothing like himself at all as he looked at his former student pleadingly.
This is the last thing I need right now... Severus thought as Erica cut him off mid sentence.
"I don't want to here any damn excuses! There IS no excuse for something like this! Alexis, you're MARRIED! And Severus... you're not supposed to have any kind of love life, especially with Alexis!" Erica yelled at them both and Vicky staggered back into the room, looking less nauseous and more disbelieving. Vicky glared at him and then he followed her gaze to the table littered with bottles of hard liquor. He looked at her and her sick expression now matched Erica's in anger.
"This is so sick! Severus, you get Alexis drunk and do THIS! What kind of person are you!" She screamed at him and he looked at Alexis with terror, shaking his head as he saw her huddled in a corner, shaking slightly.
I did make that first move... Oh my god... Severus thought to himself as his breathing slowly but surely regulated. Severus was too lost in thought to realize that while Vicky had assumed him the culprit -and in his mind, she would have been right- Erica had assumed this all some master plan of Alexis's.
"Alexis! You get Severus drunk and do this! What about Ron?" Erica accused, and Severus wondered what the bloody hell she was going on about. Alexis ever actually do something like that? ... Never... Nope... Severus thought as Alexis cringed at the accusations. Oh yeah Azkaban is sounding pretty nice, then again so is death... I'm within the reach of how many knives and dangerous weapons that can cause death?... Severus thought, surveying the kitchen for any means in which to kill himself. He hardly listened to Vicky and Erica fight, deciding that life was now a futile venue, seeing as Alexis's husband was now going to fillet him.
"Alexis couldn't do such a thing. Severus on the other hand..." Vicky scolded and he put his head in his hands, wondering what in the hell had come over him as he slumped to sit on the cold floor, his knees weak.
"You're not helping this any Vicky! The fact is, they're both drunk and were about to do god-knows-what on the Kitchen floor!" Erica screamed loudly and Severus grimaced, the thoughts of the prior thirty minutes rushing through his mind. He shuddered at the thought, and then an even more gruesome one appeared.
Vicky and Erica... Saved us... If they had not... No, I dare not think of what I might have done... Heavens know my soul's going to rot in hell for this... Severus thought to himself, his head buried as deep as possible in his arms. He didn't want to see anyone or hear anything he just wanted the world to go black with white noise. He wanted this to all disappear, but he knew not even magic could erase this night in his memory. Severus felt embarrassed that he had not controlled himself, that there was no stopping effort in it. He simple let his darker side bait him into doing something as it had done several times before.
Vicky gasped aloud and Severus tried to ignore her as she spoke but the words that came form her mouth burned him like hot acid. "No one would tell us why you two left the Manor, nor did any of them know where you were at exactly... does this mean... you ran away together?" She questioned and had Severus eaten anything he would have thrown up right then and there. His head snapped up as he looked at the two women before him. He assumed they would think something like that, but never that he and Alexis had willingly 'ran away together', that was preposterous.
Then again, so was what just happened...? Severus thought as Alexis spoke up, shaking her head as she buried it back into her arms, her voice trembled slightly.
"This is it. Hell has finally frozen over, and I'm stuck smack dab in the middle of it... funny, I always imagined the Kitchen would look like this..." She commented and Severus watched as Erica took on a face of incensed anger.
"You ran away to be together because no one would approve of it at the Manor! Oh my god, you people are messed up! Wait till I tell Artimis about this..." She snarled with a glare for both of them. Severus froze. Artimis... She'll be sure to tell Ron, and he would fly here immediately and kill me... Well, life was nice... He thought to himself as Alexis laughed, though it was one of those on the edge of insanity laughs. She was trembling, he could visibly see, and rightfully so. He had just violated her, damn, he had just violated himself. Severus watched as Erica yanked Vicky towards the door, hissing to them as they left.
"I hope you two have fun while you still can. I have no choice but to tell the others, you brought this on yourselves... come on Vicky, we're going to England..." She stated as she followed Erica out and with the closing of the door Severus sighed and looked around. His shirt was draped on the table and he quietly got up to get it, pulling it on over his head with a hint of disgust.
Alexis remained curled against the wall with her head buried in her arms as her chest heaved and Severus thought she was crying. He sat there for fifteen minutes watching her, trying to figure out what they should do now. Deciding to make sure she was still alive before he killed himself, he moved toward her, hesitating as he barely touched her arm. She shrunk back from him, looking up as she hollered.
"Don't touch me! Just... don't touch me..." She demanded with a trembling voice as she stared at him and he backed up from her guiltily. He looked at her, concerned as to what this event had done to her, but he could no longer bear to look at her so he decided to delight in the designs of the floor. He found his voice finally and spoke lowly and hesitantly.
"Um... w, why you don't get the shower firs-" He began and she cut him off with a shaky demand.
"Yes. Then I'm drugging myself and going to sleep. And I don't care what they think; I'm not sleeping next to you tonight." Alexis told him shakily, pulling herself to her feet. He didn't even look up as she passed him and he heard her head into the bathroom. He stood up and grabbed and empty bottle, slamming it against wall in all of his pent up rage at himself.
How could I... Ugh... Severus thought as he began to pick up the pieces of the shattered bottle. He cut his hands a few times, but the pain was mind numbing and he welcomed it. Severus cleaned the kitchen, focusing on the task to ignore any and all reminders of the event. Instinctively and without thinking about it, he quickly made a pot of tea, pouring some for himself and downing it in two gulps. The rest he left in the pot, pouring a full vial of Alexis's elixir into it, knowing she was going to need it tonight. He just wished he had something for himself...
He left the tea there, trusting her to drink it, and stalked into the bedroom, making sure Alexis was not in there. He didn't think he could face her right now. He grabbed his pillow and blanket and tossed them on the couch. After an hour or two he heard Alexis come out of the bathroom and he walked in right past her, not seeing any of her but her feet.
He proceeded to scrub every inch of his body in the frigid water, ignoring the biting cold as he focused on his task. After an hour long frozen shower, Severus just collapsed on the bathroom floor, looking to the ceiling with disgust.
If they hadn't stopped me... I don't know what I would have done... But that is a lie... I know exactly what I would have done and this nightmare would have been easily the worst of my life... Severus thought as he coldly and desperately clung to sleep like a beacon, but he knew that he would have dreams enough to wake the dead.
"Never again will I ever drink hard liquor when I am not alone in my locked room." He thought as he fell into miserable slumber.
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Later that night, the small meeting room resting in the warehouse was in an uproar.
"Mitchell, tell us once more what you and your team saw." Jackson commanded urgently, knowing the men in the room would not remain stationary and civil for long.
The agent nodded, still standing in front of the table as he spoke aloud. "Not three hours ago, two unidentified women, witches we deducted, appeared outside our target's room. They had interrupted a ... moment, between the targets, much to their great surprise so it seemed. The conversation that presumed seemed to greatly stress the British couple as well. Why, we still don't know. But we did not delay in citing as much evidence as possible, and immediately sent the pictures to be analyzed. Leo should be here with the stats any moment."
"The second team hasn't come up with any evidence that their targets from across town might be the British agents-" One of the seated men started heatedly, and Jackson quickly corrected.
"Yet. We can't just barge in there and immediately assume they are our spies. If they weren't, the true team would find out about it and take precautions against us. We have to be certain on this, and only then, we'll question them first."
"We should just kill them all and be done with it. I'm sick and tired of being on guard all the time over two measly spies!" One fellow stood up and growled, and several voices joined up in agreement, while a few others rose up in protest.
Jackson sighed, shaking his head, and then called out loudly to the man that had spoken up with a bit of frustrated sarcasm. "Yes. Kill them Francis. It's not like the Ministry of Magic will think that all the British couples in and around Boston being murdered is something odd. Maybe they'll just shrug their shoulders with an 'oh well' and come up with some lame excuse to the Brits about it. They would never think of looking into it more deeply."
The swell of voices settled somewhat, and Francis scowled at him. Another man, sitting beside Jackson, stood and snapped. "Sit down Francis before you say something to further make an ass out of yourself. There's a lot more to this than just killing them and going on with this, you all should know that. They have information they might've already sent to our Ministry, so it would be idiotic to not question them. Think, people."
There was a murmur of reluctant agrees, and suddenly the door burst open, everyone jumping and some even pulling out a weapon in defense. A man stood there, wide eyed and breathing raggedly as he held up a piece of paper, looking to Jackson. Jackson stepped forward and snatched it, scanning it over carefully. His own eyes widened and he lowered the paper in surprise. Everyone stared at him in confusion as the man beside him took the paper, reading it, and then speaking aloud.
"The two women, indeed witches, were identified as Erica Barton and Vicky Adkins. Both cohorts with the Ministry in Britain, and accomplices to their Aurors, most specifically Artimis Callabella and Alexis Whyte."
The room was in a dead silence for a moment, and Jackson smiled, looking to the agent Mitchell. "I think you know what needs to be done. Just make sure they're uninjured enough to talk."
Who would have thought that I would try that?
I mean, I'm not the person who wrote 'Dreams' or anything... hehehe...
Please read and review...
Toodles,
Deep Shadows
