Chapter 10
Warren Peace let out a soft groan as he woke up. His throat hurt, his neck was stiff, and his nose was plugged up. Damn hypothermia and all of its immune-system-lowering-ness. God, did he just think that? He was sicker then he thought. Turning his head as far as his neck would allow, he saw Ann curled up in an easy chair nearby him.
He smiled softly when he saw her. She had changed since what he assumed what the night before. Now she wore a pale purple nightgown with straps and a heart neckline. It had an empire waist, and the skirt was made out of many layers of some sort of light, floaty stuff that Warren was sure had some fancy name that he couldn't think of at the time. All in all, the dress gave her a more soft, delicate, and vulnerable air then she usually had.
With a soft sigh Ann adjusted herself in her chair as she woke up, making her gown shift to reveal small, highly arched feet. Again, Warren smiled to see her looking so sweet.
"Hey." He tried to say, but his sore throat and dry mouth made it end up being more of a croak.
Ann's eyes opened slowly, and she smiled softly at seeing him awake, the gentle look still not leaving her face.
"Hey." She replied quietly. "You gave me quite the scare."
"Sorry." Warren replied. "You look nice."
Ann blushed as she uncurled herself from her chair, and set about straightening her rumpled hair.
"Thanks." She murmured back.
"You have really, really long hair."
"I know." Ann replied, grateful for the opportunity to say something sarcastic.
"How long have I been out?"
"Since the night before last."
Warren fell into a fit of coughing.
"What? That long?" He managed to gasp out after a few failed attempts, and Ann nodded.
"You got over the cold fairly quickly, but the cold started pretty soon after, and you had… have" She corrected herself after putting a hand on his forehead "A fever. You were a bit delirious."
"And you didn't take me to a doctor!" Warren protested.
"Come on, I've taken care of enough sick people to know how to look after one hothead with a cold."
"Don't call me hothead." He grumbled.
"No whining. How do you feel?"
Warren considered this question. He felt horrible, which she probably already knew, so he imagined she wanted to know if he felt unusual in anyway. His eyes widened as he realized…
"I can't feel my legs!" He shouted.
Ann looked at them oddly, and then shook her head and reached over to grab something off of his legs.
"Maxine! Off!" She snapped as she tossed a ball of cat off of him. Warren stared after the cat, which now regained its dignity and flounced off in consternation.
"How could something that small make my legs go numb?" He asked and winced as pins and needles shot through his legs.
"I imagine you haven't had that many animals sit on your lap?" Warren shook his head. "When they sit on just the right nerve for long enough, the ol' legs turn right off. Max here has been snoozing on you off and on for the past day. It seems you're something like an incubator at the moment, and Max loves the heat."
"Uh huh." Warren said as he struggled to move his weakened body.
"Do you want to sit up?" Ann asked, suddenly flying to his side. "Here, let me help. It would probably be a good idea for you to move anyway."
Warren growled and smacked her hands away. He might be sick but he would not let Ember Cromwell help him to sit up… for Pete's sake.
"Oh stop fussing!" Em scolded him, and resolutely put her hands under his arms. "You aren't strong enough to lift Ariel, much less yourself."
After a brief battle of hands and wills, Warren allowed her to assist him in sitting up on the couch.
"Damn." He thought. "That girl can be really bitchy when she's being maternal. Maternal! What the hell am I thinking! Ugh!"
Once he was sitting up, he noticed to his chagrin that all he was wearing were his boxers. He looked at Ann curiously, suddenly remember their 'conversation' when he had been ill. Ann blushed again and scowled at him.
"Say it again, and I will hit you this time." She warned.
"But I'm still sick!"
"You're not at death's door anymore, but if you even think of saying anything now, you will be."
Warren smirked. Ah, the spirit that this one showed when her honor, or lack thereof, was in question. British.
"Do you want anything?"
"Some water?"
"Just a minute." Ann went out of the room, and came back a few minutes later with a large glass of water. "I'll be going in a few minutes, but I should be back in about a half an hour. Is there anything else you need? I could set you up with a DVD."
"Uh, yeah, whatever." Warren replied as he sipped on his drink.
"Okay, my Father has like, every single movie ever here, so what do you feel like?"
"I said I don't really care."
"Snippy aren't we? Okay, have you ever seen Arabian Nights?"
"No, but I read the book."
"It's good. Adventure, comedy, fantasy, even true love!"
"Why am I getting Princess Bride flashbacks?"
"Because you're ill and crabby?"
"That's probably it."
Ann popped the DVD in, made sure that he was comfortable and that the remote control was within reach, as well as fixing him a mug of chicken broth. After that she had to go.
When she came back, she smiled to see Warren absolutely wrapped up in the movie.
"A man of infinite jest." Said the man on the screen. "That's a good one. Write that down before I forget it."
Warren chuckled and took another sip of broth.
"Enjoying yourself?" Asked Ann.
"As far as being sick goes, this isn't too bad." Warren affirmed.
"To make it better, I have a surprise for you."
Warren turned when he heard a muffled sound that sounded suspiciously like…
"WA-WE!" Ariel finally screamed out as Em pulled her out of her snowsuit, which had been muffling her cries before. Warren couldn't help it, he broke into a grin and held out his arms for her.
Ann stopped dead in her tracks. She had been moving to hand her sister to him, but seeing Warren Peace's grin had been… unexpected. It was like a chandelier suddenly lighting up in the middle of a dark room.
"Well?" Warren asked. "Bring the baby!" He whined, the fever obviously affecting his brain again.
"Oh." Ann covered quickly. "I was just considering who was the bigger baby, Ariel or you."
"Oh haha, make fun of the sick guy." He muttered as he settled Ariel on his lap.
"Really. Who knew the great Warren Peace was such a wailer when he was sick?" Ann teased as she set about warming up a bottle for Ariel, who she could see was about to start fussing. Sure enough, a minute later she was making moaning sounds, making Warren get panicky.
"Um, Ann? Is she okay? Am I holding her wrong? Is she getting my sickness?"
"She's just hungry. And besides, she's already had the cold this year. Otherwise I wouldn't have brought her here." Em reassured him as she sat down, cradled Ariel in her arms, and set about feeding her.
Watching Anna with her infant sibling, Warren smiled for what seemed like the thousandth time that day. She would make a great mother. She already looked like some sort of Madonna with her long hair falling over both Cromwell's faces as she looked down tenderly at the child.
…
"Warren, do you want some more tea… oh!"
Ann stopped abruptly as she entered the living room that night. A tender smile touched her face as she saw Warren lying on his side on the couch, with Ariel in only her fresh diaper held against his bare chest, a blanket draped over his waist. There was something so paternal about the way they looked, sleeping there together. Ann brushed a hand over her heart, wondering why it had sped up for a moment there. Maybe it was just her imagination. She moved her hand to touch her mouth as she considered. No. No it wasn't possible. It would be too… too strange.
"Do you have to put Ariel to bed now?"
Ann started at Warren's soft question. She realized that his one eye was open a crack, and he had been looking at her for Lord-knows-how-long.
"I'm afraid so. I'd let her sleep with you, only you might role over during the night."
"Good point." Warren agreed, but he still looked sad as Ann picked up the still sleeping child and carried her out of the room.
She came back a few moments later in her nightgown from the morning. Warren frowned.
"Aren't you going to sleep now?"
"I'm going to sleep in here for now, so you don't have to walk around if you need anything. I'll be right here." She said, settling herself on the other couch in the room.
"Em?" Warren asked after a few moments. Ann sighed.
"Yes?"
"What's with the tattoo?"
Ann burst out laughing. She would have fallen over if she hadn't have been lying down. As it is, it's not terribly comfortable to laugh that hard in a reclining position.
"Oh, I got that on a whim last year."
"Weren't you like, fourteen then?"
Ann rolled onto her side so that she could look at Warren.
"One of the bonuses of living in a very remote part of an already lenient society, you can get away with a lot."
Warren looked over at her.
"So why a rampant lion? Isn't that a part of heraldry?"
"Actually, it was part of the old Cromwell heraldry. I just kind of felt like putting a permanent ode to my ancestors on my back one day."
"Right." Said Warren as he rolled his eyes.
"Okay, so it might have been my first time ever drinking anything stronger then wine, but still…!"
Warren let out a bark of laughter.
"Ah ha! So the truth is out! So tell me, what were you drinking?"
"Champagne actually. That stuff goes to your head so fast."
"Lightweight."
"Am not! Champagne is a lot more alcoholic then people give it credit for!"
"Oh give it up and go to sleep, Em."
Ann rolled over to face the back of the couch, muttering about stupid pyros and leaving said stupid pyro to die next time he went for a swim in her river.
…
The young pyro woke up the next morning feeling a lot better, though still very weak. Looking around, he saw that he was alone in the room. He also saw that someone had left a dark blue flannel shirt over a chair near the fire. Smiling slightly, he picked it up and put it on. It was nice and warm from the fire, and actually fit him quite well. After going to the bathroom, he decided to step outside for a moment.
As soon as he opened the door, he was hit with a blast of cold air, and he shivered. Even though he was tempted to turn around and go right back in, he gritted his teeth and stepped out onto the porch. As he listened to the sound of the wind in the trees, he began to hear the faint strains of a song. Someone was singing, and they were coming closer.
Ann came around the side of the house just then. Warren quirked and eyebrow and smirked when he saw what she was wearing. She wore a dark green flannel, dark blue jeans, her usual black hiking shoes, and a well-worn, brown leather cowboy hat. And it wasn't one of those prissy, modern American cowboy hats either. It was like the older kind. Flat, round brim and a flat top.
Warren raised both eyebrows when he saw what she was singing to. Behind her she lead a large white horse. It was unusual in that it's head, mane, tail, and lower legs were black. Catching sight of Warren, it neighed and bobbed its head.
"Oh quiet you." Ann scolded, and then looked over at Warren. "Hello!" She called.
As the pair came closer, Warren walked over to them hesitantly. The horse was a whole inch taller then Ann at the withers.
"That's a big horse." Warren commented unnecessarily.
"Seventeen hands. He's my Blue Roany-woany. Isn't he?" She said, going into full baby talk and rubbing his neck.
"Blue Roan? I've heard of those." Warren said, reaching over a hand for the horse to inspect. "What's his breed?"
"Quarter Horse. His name is White Wizard, but mostly I just call him Boo-boo."
"Ah, a Lord of the Rings fan." Warren smirked.
"And proud of it too." Ann smiled proudly. "Now why don't you go inside and wake up Ariel. I'll be right in to make you some breakfast after I put him away."
The words had hardly left her mouth before Warren ran back into the house, all the while trying to pretend not to run.
"He's so whipped." Ann remarked to Wizard, who nodded his head in agreement.
…
"Hey, Ann. Do you want to come watch Beauty and the Beast with Ariel?"
"God, you're such a pushover Warren."
"I know, but do you want to come watch it too?"
"I can't. I have a paper to write."
Warren grabbed a nearby desk chair and pulled it up to Ann's seat at her computer.
"Oh? What about?"
"Funny thing that. My English Lit teacher was so impressed with my telling of The Lady of Shallot, that she asked me to write a complete study of it that she could present to the class. Unfortunately, my report from way back when isn't quite fitting for this setting, so now I have to re-write it."
There was silence between them for a while as Ann typed diligently, and Warren read over her shoulder.
"You know," Ann finally said, "Aren't you supposed to be doing something?"
"No. I've already set Ariel up with the movie. I just wanted to know if you wanted to see it too."
Ann gave a soft, 'Hm', and doubled her efforts to ignore him.
"So, Ann."
"Yes?" She responded in a slightly annoyed voice.
"Wasn't your grandfather a lion shape shifter?"
Ann sighed.
"Yes, and he had a sort of demi-form, and super-strength, agility, and certain heightened senses. Not to mention he tends to roar when he's displeased with something and he has something of the instincts." Ann rattled off mechanically.
"Really? Do you have any of those powers?" Asked Warren, obviously leading to something.
"Not so much. I'm not strong, but I'm certainly bendy enough."
"Oh!" Warren exclaimed, pretending to be surprised.
Ann turned around in her chair and glared at him.
"So that's what you've been getting at! You little perve!" She snapped at him, trying to not giggle.
"Am not!" Warren protested. "If anything I'm a big perve!"
Ann rolled her eyes and turned back to her work.
"You're impossible."
"Seriously." Warren continued in an attempt to placate her. "I didn't actually think that you would have the agility or anything. But now that I know you do, what else can you do?"
"Um." Ann looked up at the ceiling, considering. "I get really heightened senses when I'm really upset, and I mean really upset. Aside from that and the occasional purring, not much."
Warren raised his eyebrows, and reached a tentative finger over to rub her behind the ear. True enough, she started to lightly rub back against his hand and give of a soft purring sound. Warren grinned and laughed.
"That is so weird!" He exclaimed, and Ann smiled.
"Do you know, you look really… well… gorgeous when you do that?"
Do what?" Asked Warren, finally pulling his hand away.
"Smile. And I don't mean one of your little I-can-fry-you-and-we-both-know-it smirks, but really smile."
Just for that, Warren grinned again and ran a hand lightly over her hair.
"So what about instincts?"
Ann nodded slowly.
"Actually, that to sometimes. They're just so much a part of me, sometimes I forget."
"Like what?"
"Oh, try to get out of the way when large fireballs are coming towards you."
"Oh, very funny." Warren droned, rolling his eyes. "Seriously." Suddenly getting a mock-worried expression, he looked her up and down. "You don't go into… heat, do you?"
Ann cast him a cold look out of the corner of her eye, and chuckled.
"No, wouldn't that be awful though!"
"Let me think." Warren considered. "Me all alone in a romantic mansion with a lovely, in-heat elemental… hmm."
Ann reached over with one hand and cuffed him on the back of the head.
"Cut it out."
Warren only chuckled.
"Tell me, what are your instincts telling you to do now?"
"Beat you over the head with a rolled up newspaper."
Warren pouted.
"But why?"
"Because you're distracting me from my work! Now go, shoo!" She waved a hand in a 'shooing' gesture.
Warren ignored it, and just watched her type for a few more minutes.
"And you're sure you don't go into heat?" He finally asked hopefully.
"Warren, get me today's newspaper!" Ann snapped back.
"Alright!" He said, holding up his hands. "I surrender!"
"No, really." She replied, looking at him with a dead-serious look on her face. "I need today's newspaper."
"Um, okay." Warren finally agreed, and went to get it.
Ann took it and looked through it to find the front page. Pulling it out, she promptly rolled it up and proceeded to beat him over the head and shoulders with it!
"Hey?" Warren protested. "I thought you needed it?"
"I did! You needed to be hit!" Ann said as she settled back down. "Oh, Mother of bloody baby Jesus in his bloody little manger!" She suddenly exclaimed.
"What?" Asked Warren.
"I had this great idea and now I can't remember it! Thanks a lot, Warren." She replied.
"You know," He commented. "Most people just say 'Mother of God'."
"I don't believe in the Trinity." Ann snapped back. "Now go away."
"Okay, maybe I was a little out of line before."
Ann turned to look at him, her face truly serious now.
"I'm serious Warren. Go away."
Warren smirked ever so slightly at her and left to go watch the movie with Ariel. At least she didn't have sudden mood changes for no reason. Women.
I am so sorry this has taken so long. I've been a bit busy with schoolwork and stuff. Not to mention I'm dangerously close to running out of ideas. You see I had it all planned out up to… well… about this chapter. After that, everything is a little sketchy. So if anyone has any ideas, or things they would like to see happen, then feel free to throw them my way. I would really love to hear about it.
I would like to extend special thanks to Siyavash, who has been throwing ideas my way since day one, and has always kept me on the straight and narrow road leading away from Mary-Sue-ness.
