ZEDD - THE NEXT MORNING

I rise early to get the children off to school to allow Thomas to sleep in a bit. Hopefully the extra sleep will help him heal faster. I know I didn't rest well at all last night as Thomas couldn't or wouldn't lie against me for sleep. I know that his shoulder was bothering him and he was still irritated at me, which didn't help his mood. It helped some that he was at home rather than in the hospital, but still…

A sudden surge of pain followed by irritation and frustration through the bond tells me that Thomas is awake and not happy. Not that I'd really expect him to be, especially waking up like that. With a sigh, I set down my coffee, pour a cup to take to him as a peace offering and head up to our room.

"Morning Thomas." He shoots me an irritated glare. "What's wrong, love? The usual or something new?" He scowls and points at his throat. Uh oh. "Voice still not working?"

Thomas shakes his head only looking all the more annoyed.

"Anything I can do to help?"

Again a negative headshake, and isn't he going to be a joy today.

"Well, I know it won't fix anything, but I brought you coffee. Promise not to throw it at me?"

Scowling once more, but at least giving a slight nod of agreement, he sits up a bit straighter on he bed before I hold the mug out to him. Unfortunately, he starts to reach for it with the wrong hand out of habit and instantly hisses in pain as he grabs his shoulder. I'm no master of lip reading, but I'm fairly sure that what he just tried to say is illegal on at least seventeen planets.

"Okay, maybe coffee can be second on the list. Do you want me to get you something for the pain?"

Shaking his head no, though it does seem reluctant at best, he points to the closet and now that I'm closer I can see why, as his lack of physical contact with me throughout the night, along with his tossing and turning out of the bed covers has apparently left him more than a little chilled.

Sighing in worry, I set the cup on the dresser, grab some clothes for him and go to help him get dressed. "I should have made sure you were covered up better before I got up to get the kids ready. That's all you need is to get sick on top of everything else."

Shaking his head once more and poking me in the chest he makes a few gestures towards himself, me, and the bed, however what exactly he's trying to get across isn't clicking with me at the moment. "I should have also taught you proper sign language it seems. If your voice doesn't return by lunch and they haven't come by yet, I'll call Pina to come look at you."

My statement obviously not helping his mood, I gently manipulate his arm to work a shirt around it as I continue, "Come on, Falcon. As you said last night, broken wings do mend and so will your voice."

And judging by the irritation and anger I'm getting now, that was likely the wrong thing to say. Perhaps I shouldn't say anything else for now. Once he's dressed and we're in the kitchen, he heads straight for his computer. In a minute, he's typed something out and turns the screen toward me.

"You'll have to call the DA's office for me and explain what's going on - that my voice has given out for the time being. Find out what they want to do."

"Let's wait and see if it comes back first. If it doesn't, we'll see what Pina has to say. You know as well as I do that they're going to want to know how long your condition is expected to last. The talk they want to have with you may be urgent enough that they'll think of something or they may be able to wait."

"Then just call Pina now and get it over with."

Based on our conversation yesterday when Thomas went to rest, I'm fairly certain that Pina and Dar are busy right now trying to find a way to get John out and away undetected. Since Thomas demanded that none of us kill him, we came up with an alternate plan. While not nearly as satisfying, it'll do to make sure that John never gets another chance at him again. Returning my attention to my rapidly becoming impatient mate, I tell him, "I can try, but they might be a bit busy this morning."

His eyes narrow a bit at my statement. "They better not be doing what I think they're doing."

"Still not a mind reader, Thomas" I answer mildly, as I pull out my phone. Quickly, I call Pina, not really surprised when she doesn't answer. I leave her a brief voice message even as Thomas shoots her a message through the email system. "I'm sure she'll get back to us soon, love. Try and relax a bit."

He takes a swallow of coffee as he waits impatiently, fingers tapping on the table between drinks. It's almost half an hour before Pina and Dar walk in the door. Between Thomas' pacing and finger tapping, I was starting to get rather annoyed myself so I'm almost as glad to see them as he is.

Without a word, Pina scans him quickly, frowning as she reads the results. "Looks like there's been no improvement since yesterday. That's why your voice hasn't returned, boetie."

He starts to reach for his computer, but stops when I ask, "Why not?"

"Because right now, his shoulder is the greater injury and the majority of the healing is focused on that. Some of it is attending to the bruises and other minor injuries, but the shoulder is the primary concern."

In irritation, Thomas slams his fist down on the table and then jerks in pain as the shock jolts the opposite shoulder. He grabs his computer and swiftly types something. "Can't you use the machine like you did years ago when I first got my powers?"

She sighs. "Tommy, honey, if you remember, I've not used the machine to heal you for anything since you came fully into your powers again."

"Because I haven't been hurt that badly since then. I am now."

"Technically, you have, brat. When Elsa sent those idiots to take the children and kill you, remember?"

Thomas frowns, thinking about this. "Now that I think about it, there are several times over the years that you could have used the machine to heal either Zedd or me. Why haven't you?"

"Because it's always better to let the powers and the body heal themselves whenever possible. If I'd known then that Elsa was going to pull that little stunt, I'd have used the machine then." Pina takes a seat at the table, turning her chair to face him. "The reason I didn't was- Okay wait. Let me back up just a little bit. Remember when I was running all those tests before implanting Jacob?" He and I both nod. "And I found out that your altered physiology was better suited to carrying offspring than Zedd's was. Well, after the - complications - during his birth, I did some more research, trying to find a way to prevent it from happening again in case you wanted more children since, again, physically you were slightly better suited than Zedd. Leaving your powers out of the equation, my research showed that allowing you to heal naturally would help if you chose to carry again. The best way I can explain it is that it's kind of like muscle memory. I'd still have to watch you carefully in the last couple of months or so for the next one, but having you heal the 'long way' so to speak would give you a much better chance of having little or no problems for the next one."

"But I do have powers."

Lightly she sets her hands on his good one. "And that is where things get extremely complicated." She launches into a complex explanation that I cannot begin to follow about thirty seconds into it. The gist I'm getting of the whole thing is that Thomas is essentially so unique, that nobody has the faintest clue what to do or what to expect.

When she finishes, he sits silently for a long time, thinking over what she's said. Slowly, he taps out, "So what you're telling me is, for this, I have to just wait it out and there's nothing you can do."

"I'm sorry, Tommy, but yes."

I can't help but jump when the bond is suddenly slammed shut. He stands up, types something and turns the machine to me before he heads out of the room. "Leave me alone for a while."

Some hours later, the children arrive home. I'd warned them that Thomas might be resting and to be quiet when they came in. They come into the kitchen and greet Pina and Dar and hug me. They each grab a brownie off the plate that Dar's trying to fill. He laughs before blocking their attempts to get more. "Stop it, you little rug rats. This is your daddy's plate."

Mara Jane has been paying far too much attention to Scorpina, I note unhappily, as she hooks her hands around his arm, lays her head against it and turns begging eyes up at him. "But Uncle Dar, didn't you save any for us?"

He sighs heavily as Pina swiftly covers her mouth to hold back her laughter. "Yes, Mara Jane, I did but they are for after dinner, young lady. I expected you two little thieves to steal those but hands off the rest!"

Reluctantly, they agree, dig out their homework and head up to their rooms. Dar's making dinner and it's one of Thomas' favorites. Dar's made good use of the cookbooks that Thomas gave him all those years ago for our first Christmas. We discovered that Thomas did indeed guess well. Many of the recipes that he marked we have enjoyed immensely. There were a few that we didn't care for and one that was downright revolting - to the point that Dar couldn't even stand the smell long enough to finish making it - never mind trying to eat it. Fortunately, it wasn't one that Thomas favored so there was no need to ever try again.

"Do you think I've left him alone long enough?" I ask the couple.

"Hard to say. Too long, not long enough - you know as well as we do that it depends on how much he's pouting" Dar answers. "You could go check on him - at least to let him know that dinner will be ready in an hour or so."

I stand, stretch and head out to find my mate. He has a few places in the house that he goes when he's seeking solitude and we all know to leave him be when he's there. I finally find him in the den, curled up in the corner of the couch, room dark. He's closed the curtains and this time of day the room gets very little natural light as it is. I sniff the air lightly, disheartened but not surprised to find that I can smell tears, pain and depression.

Sighing silently to myself, I cross the room and sit next to him, carefully pulling him into my arms and making sure not to stress his shoulder. He doesn't fight me and for a moment I think he's asleep. I realize he's not when he wipes his eyes before allowing himself to lean fully against me. His body language alone tells me how down he's feeling right now. Unfortunately, I can think of a dozen things that could be contributing to it and I certainly don't want to say something that will put an idea in his head that isn't already there.

He raises his head and sniffs the air, making me smile. My grin widens as his stomach growls. Softly, I murmur, "About an hour, love."

Thomas exhales in exasperation and I can practically hear the curses flying through his mind. He settles more comfortably against me with a sigh. I press a kiss on his head. "I know how you feel, Thomas. I know how frustrated you are, just as you understand mine right now." He nods. "It's not really your strong suit, I know, but please try and be patient, love. You will get better and, don't forget, much faster than you would without powers or being a half breed."

His nod of agreement is half hearted, at best. If I can't even make my husband feel better, what good am I as a husband? If it was just the injury or just feeling down, I could handle that, but it's not and I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. I kiss him again. "I love you."

He might have closed the bond, but he can still hear my discontent in my voice, I think, as he pulls back slightly to kiss me reassuringly, which is followed by several more less reassuring kisses. Thomas is trying to distract me. I recognize the tactic as one we've both employed in the past - with varying degrees of success. However neither of us has tried it when this injured before. Tempting as it is to allow him to continue, I will not intentionally be a source of pain for him and there is no way the activity he's trying to head for will be pain free.

"Thomas, stop please, love." I wait for him to do so before I speak again. "I know what you're trying to do and I appreciate it, I really do, but we both know that there is no way that we can mate right now without you being in severe pain before it's over. I don't want you hurting for me or because of me."

And I can almost hear his voice in my head, arguing back that he's not hurt that badly. "Yes you are hurt that badly and I will not willfully add to your pain. Be patient, love and you can have your wicked way with me some other time." He snorts in slight amusement but backs off slightly. "I know you said that I can't take care of you the way you do for me, but that only applies to mental and emotional needs, Thomas. I can still take care of you physically so that you heal properly and as soon as possible."

He nods against my chest as he settles back against me. Lightly, I rub his back, making sure to be gentle as he still has a few rather prominent bruises.

He and I are both almost asleep when Pina comes to fetch us almost an hour later. Thomas is literally dragging his feet as he makes his way to the kitchen for food. Perhaps he should go to bed after we eat. Getting a good look at him after he's seated, I realize that he's going to be lucky to make it through the meal without falling asleep in his plate. If I didn't know better, I would swear that he's been drugged.

Even the children are more than aware that he's not quite himself. They keep their voices low and direct their conversation to the other adults. Thomas seems to wake up a bit when Dar places a loaded plate in front of him. Awkwardly, he picks up his fork and begins to eat, not even commenting in any way about his food already being cut for him.

Pina subtly manages to scan him without him noticing - or at the very least, without him commenting on it. She quickly reads the device before giving me a comforting smile and nod, letting me know that he's all right.

After dinner, Thomas manages to eat only one brownie before giving up. He rises unsteadily to his feet and in a flash I'm beside him. He gives me a slightly pleading look through half open eyes. "Come on, Thomas. I'll take you up to bed."

I pick him up and head swiftly for the bedroom. Even so, he's nearly asleep by the time we get there. As fast as I can without hurting him, I get him undressed and settled under the covers. I press a lingering kiss to his forehead. "Go to sleep, love. I'll be up in a bit."

He gives me a weak nod and his eyes close. I watch him for a minute before going downstairs. A questioning look shot at Pina and she says, "The powers have kicked into overdrive to heal him. No this won't be like when the powers changed him. Unless he somehow - in spite of all his advantages now - has managed to get an infection of some kind, he'll be fine in a couple of days now. This will be more like after Jacob was born. He'll sleep a lot and soundly." She pauses for a moment. "Or maybe a version of what happened after we caught the Earth flu all those years ago." She shrugs. "Either way, he's going to be sleeping a lot and difficult to awaken. We'll help with whatever has to be done, of course."

"If all he needs is rest now, I'll tend to him and make certain to get him up long enough to eat something and wash up. As for any help that you two can provide-" Glancing briefly to my children before looking back at my companions seriously I make the message clear without actually saying it, "-You already know what to do."

"It'll be taken care of" Dar assures me calmly and to the untrained ear casually, however knowing him as I do, I can already see the barely contained fire in his eyes.

"Good." I turn my attention to my children, both of which still look more than a tad depressed over Thomas' current physical state no doubt. "As for things to do, if you have both finished your homework and laid your things out for school tomorrow, we can either play a game or watch television."

Mara Jane shakes her head. "If it's all right, Papa, I have a book I'd like to get back to."

"If you'll at least come and be in the same room with the rest of us, that's fine." At her curious look I elaborate slightly. "I want to spend time with you kids, sue me."

Smiling slightly, but at least one of the first few real smiles I've seen from her since she and Jacob returned home the other day, she however quickly hides it before giving an over dramatic sigh and roll of her eyes. "Fine, I guess."

Smiling myself now, I give her a serious look. "Just wait little girl, one day when you have children, and they get to be teenagers, I'm going to come over to your house, look at you, and laugh."

Suddenly looking far too amused, she shakes her head. "Ha! That's what grandma said she told you when you were my age." Son of a-

Waiting until she goes off to retrieve her book, still laughing at me as she does, I look at Jacob, who has been oddly quiet. "What about you?"

It's rare that I see my youngest look so solemn and in truth it's worrying me more than a little bit. "Television, please Papa."

"All right. What's wrong, son?"

"I'm just worried about Daddy." Somehow I don't feel like that's the truth, but for now I'll let it go.

"He'll be all right. Just like your Aunt Pina said, he just needs to rest now so his powers can heal him."

Giving a silent nod, he moves to clear his place. Great, not only does he have Thomas' looks, but apparently also his desire to hide his worries and problems. Fantastic. Letting him be for the moment, knowing pushing him right now won't help, especially if he really is anything like his daddy, I can only hope that whatever is on his mind can be put aside at least for the evening so he can sleep well.

"Well then let's take care of clean up and then we can relax for the night."