Chapter 11-Amelioration
Oooo see how long and pretty it is? And it's almost all Al/Rachel interaction. I'm making-up for all my misbehaving and slow updates =D
Such utter lies. All better in the morning my ass! Only Al's strong arms around me kept me from spilling out of the bed, but I still tossed and turned all night, balancing on the fine edge of sleep and feverish hallucination. Al's grumble-laden nursing tugged me from a fever dream filled with visions of my sun-filled kitchen, the rich incense of living vampire, and oddly enough, a plethora of images of blue lilies emitting the sweet and sharp smell of apples and minty cloves.
But it was just Al leaning over me, his red goat-slitted eyes studying my face, his full lips pressed together. I could smell him all around me, the ghost flickers of burnt amber that my nose mostly no longer recognized, and his own musky maleness that seemed stronger since he'd been cuddled up alongside me all night. I wasn't about to bitch at him about it. He'd pulled this stunt before, and when I'd gotten chilled last night, his body warmth and soft murmurs had coaxed me back to some semblance of sleep.
Warm hands pulled at the bed covers, and I squirmed in protest, trying to yank them back up over my face. Al's hand smacked one of mine, and it stung enough to make me try to sit up and glare at him. Both hands seized me, and I tried to kick out at him, thinking at first he was trying to strangle me. But no, his hands were firm but gentle and felt like molten flesh against the sides of my neck. Another wave of scent cascaded down over me as he muttered to himself, and this time I could clearly discern the sharpness of mint and cloves paired with sweetness of apple. Al pulled away suddenly, letting me pull the covers back up, and I was almost disappointed, but at least it was warmer under here.
"I'm going to steal your soap," I threatened when Al forced another noxious mystery brew to my lips.
"I'll lather you up good, Rachel, just drink you damn medicine," Al growled back at me.
I tried to, really, but it was obscenely bitter. I choked and sputtered, and Al seized my face, tilting my head back with one hand and clamping another firmly around my mouth. I swallowed convulsively, the taste bringing tears to my eyes, and Al released me.
"What the hell?" I protested, trying to sound pissed but really just sounding tired and weaker than I cared to admit.
"It'll bring down the fever," he muttered, and I struggled to turn on my side and bury myself in the sweat-soaked pillow. I didn't want to see his pinched face, the blatant concern when his features were usually so schooled and closed.
"Was it the Ivy tea?" I whispered, trying to forget about burning in the line, then burning out in the sun, and the worst of it, being unable to get home.
Al's laugh was short and forced and made goosebumps rise on my skin. I rubbed at them ineffectively, but stopped damned quick since the skin still felt raw and sunburned.
"No, it wasn't the kyphi, you dumb itchy-witch. Though you did drink my entire stash of it," Al growled with mock anger, but even that was better than the concern. I was already afraid, I didn't want to think of it, didn't want to know what was really wrong since I had terrible suspicions. I could still see the unforgiving halo of sun under my eyelids.
But even half-delirious, I had to know, no matter how scared I was. "What happened then?" I asked, hating the whining tremble in my voice.
"You acted like a little moron, that's what happened. You jumped the lines. Without proper training. Again." The rumble in his voice wasn't performance this time, and his red eyes burned into me. I slipped further under the covers till only my eyes peeked out.
"I didn't mean to," I mumbled into the fabric of the blanket, only now realizing it was darker and plusher than what I had on my bed.
Al's quiet snarl echoed menacingly through the room and made me slip all the way under the covers. I didn't have the energy to deal with him, and with this fever pounding through my head, things shifted from unreality to a sharpness that seemed more drug-induced than natural. A genuinely angry Al seemed just too monstrous to deal with right now.
I felt more than heard him stalk across the room. His shadow seemed to put physical pressure atop my barrier blanket.
"It was an accident!" I cried out, then cringing at the sound of my own voice. What the hell was wrong with me? Sure Al was pissed, but he wouldn't really hurt me, especially if I was really sick, right? Despite any of my reasoning, I felt dizzy with fear and wondered how pissed he'd really be if I puked all over his bed.
Oh, crap. It finally processed in my sun-stroked probably tea-poisoned brain. Al hadn't ambushed me in my bed again. He'd put me to sleep in his bedroom. Which would explain why the sheets were red silk and the walls were green with black crown molding. I tried to think of something scathing to say about his predictable and clashing colors, but my brain was mush and I think I just laughed awkwardly under the covers instead.
"There's nothing funny about addling your already questionably functional witchy brains, Rachel," Al said from right next to me, and I squeaked like a girly girl and tumbled over the side of the bed.
"Really Rachel, as if my point needed even more proof," Al grumbled but his arms were gentle around me as he plucked me from the thick, black carpeting and tucked me back into bed with efficient care. I shuddered when his bare hands rested on my forehead again then slid slowly down my arms. I couldn't decide if he was warm or cool and which one felt better right now. So I just snuggled back down into my nest of blankets and blinked up at Al owlishly. He wasn't mad if he tucked me in, right?
Al stared back at me, his face blank and unreadable once again. Even feverish and delusional and sore on every inch of my skin it was awkward, but I couldn't think of anything to say to dispel it.
Thankfully, Al broke the staring contest. Which I guess means I won? Go team Rachel!
"Let's do something about that skin now, hmm?" Al asked in a light tone that immediately set me on edge.
"What's wrong with my skin?" I asked, pulling an arm out from under the covers for a closer look. The lighting in the room was odd though, I couldn't even discern where it was coming from, and in the feeble light I couldn't tell if I looked like I'd fallen asleep at the beach.
But Al had already jumped from the bedroom, probably to the spelling kitchen. I thought for a moment of forcing myself out of his bed and staggering off to my own, but even raising myself on my elbows was too much effort. I collapsed back down to wait for Al and wrinkled my nose at the puff of burnt amber rising from the sheets. As long as it wasn't terrible to twist, I'd take a curse to make my skin not feel so damn tender. Feeling back to normal would be worth a little smut.
Al was back in a flash, or more like a noisy displacement of air that made my ears twitch. "You're sun burnt to all hell, itchy witch," Al answered as if he hadn't just disappeared on me. I grumbled under the blankets but poked my head out enough to watch Al. He had a bottle in his hand, and I felt my stomach twist just at the thought of another nasty mouthful of medicine.
"A little more light then," Al murmured, sitting on the edge of the bed closest to me. I blinked like a deer caught in the headlights at the sudden blaze, then retreated back under the covers.
"Turn it back down!" I yelled, but Al ignored me and started trying to pull my blankets away from me.
"Keep your eyes closed, it'll take a few moments to acclimate back into the normal spectrum," Al said, pinning me down with one hand as the other successfully snatched away my hoard of blankets. I didn't know what the hell he meant, but I had my eyes clamped shut anyway.
Al was humming and I heard him squeezing the bottle he'd retrieved and the wet sounds of its contents emptying into his hands. I squirmed more out of habit than to be a pain; if it would really help soothe my tortured skin, I was willing to try it.
I gasped at the cold, slippery substance in Al's hands, and shivered when he started smearing it all over my upper arms.
"What is that?" I asked, biting down a moan. It felt so damn good on my skin I was willing to forget it was Al touching me. Al who I was still furious with, Al who had played me like a fiddle then still thought he could lead me on further. I tried to crack my eyes open again to watch him, but it was still too damn bright.
"Mostly aloe, but with a few more helpful ingredients added to it. I told you, you're burnt to a crisp," Al said, his voice preoccupied as he rubbed the gelid goop into my shoulders, neck, and even on my cheeks, forehead, , my earlobes, and the bridge of my nose. I snorted in irritation when he finished with my face and tapped the tip of my nose like he was disciplining a naughty kitten.
"It's a mystery what goes on in that itchy witch head of yours, Rachel. You could have died," he said softly, finishing up with my hands and elbows and pulling up the long, silky nightgown to start rubbing the aloe into my feet and ankles. It was better than a massage, and my burning skin went cool and relaxed under his touch. It felt good enough that I was only momentarily annoyed that he had changed my clothes while I was unconscious, again.
"I just wanted to get home," I said, and it sounded weak even to my ears.
"This is your home," Al said without any emotion as if it wasn't a conversation worth having or one that had been replayed to death.
"You know it isn't," I grumbled, and he didn't bother to reply, just continued working the aloe into my legs, stroking behind my knees with wet feather touches that made me sigh.
I gasped and jerked my eyes open, regretting it instantly when the light pierced my eyes like a spear. I kicked my legs away from him, pulling the hem he'd been trying to lift up even higher out of his grasp.
"Stop being a child, Rachel. It's the only thing that's going to get that burn out of your hide," Al said irritably, trying to snag me again but I rolled to the other side of the bed.
"I was wearing clothes, Al!" I said, pulling out of his hands again with a grunt of pain and effort. "I can't be sun burnt where I was covered, you ass!" I tried to kick him for good measure but failed miserably.
But Al stopped trying to grab me and that made me calm down enough to look up at him and the tightness around his eyes.
"It's not the actual light that's the problem, itchy witch," Al said slowly and with a deathly seriousness that made me pay attention.
"There's something more to the sunlight, let's call it an allergen for simplicity's sake. You were exposed for a prolonged period of time. Another demon would be dead, but you're just sun poisoned…"
"I'm not a demon," I said with more force than I really felt. The sun had never hurt me before, why was I screwed up now? My eyes were getting heavy with unshed tears, and I opened them cautiously to blink and try and keep holding them back.
Even though I was distracted, Al didn't make another grab for me; he just waited, staring patiently at the wall while I got myself under control. "And the sun? My skin? It's not…permanent?" My voice caught, but I forced all the words out, still blinking stupidly at the light but not as awfully blinded anymore.
"It's probably just a sensitivity due to your prolonged stay in ever after," Al said, and I knew he was being nice. He didn't know for certain. Maybe I'd never get home now. I pulled my legs up and buried my face. At least my legs and arms felt normal again. My back burned like a bitch when I hunched forward, but at least this way I didn't have to look at Al.
"And your skin will be fine once we get all those nasty free radicals neutralized." Al squeezed the aloe bottle again, smearing a generous amount of the medicinal smelling green goop in one hand.
"With aloe?" I said bitingly.
"Yes, Rachel. With aloe. Take it off or I'll do it for you," Al warned, stepping closer to the bed again and staring down at me. Waiting.
"I can do it myself," I stated, reaching out for the bottle, glaring back up at him.
"Don't think so, itchy witch. You can't miss a single spot or you'll sicken further from exposure. I won't have Newt snatching you from me now because you wrinkle up like a raisin." Al said evenly. I stared up at him like he'd grown a few more heads. He sat back down on the edge of the bed and patted the space near him as if really expecting me to come to him. His lips thinned when I made no move, and quicker than I could see, he grabbed me with his free hand. I scooted over before he could pull me; I didn't want to think how being pulled across the bed would feel on my blistering back.
Al hiked up the nightgown around my waist without further ado, and I leaned back onto the pillows, trying not to look at him while his hands ran over my thighs, rubbing in the soothing gel. Even if I was as red as a boiled lobster after passing out in the sun, I knew I was redder now. He had said a single spot couldn't be missed, and he'd meant it. He worked all the way up my legs without a comment, and I was afraid I was sweating when his warm hands tenderly massaged my inner thighs. He skirted certain areas while I was furiously contemplating what the hell I'd do if he made a move to remove my panties, instead massaging the aloe into my lower belly first, and reaching to get the backs of my thighs as well.
Before I had time to cringe about what he was going to massage the gel into next, one of his arms arm came down like an iron band on my legs, effectively keeping me from kicking him in his ugly demon face when his other hand pulled my panties off without hesitation.
"Al, you ass!" I yelled, squirming to get away as his cool fingers massaged my lips and slipped inside. He swirled his fingers around my opening, fingers barely penetrating before he moved on. My entire body jolted when he brushed my clit and I glared up at him, but he continued without comment, reaching up to cover my mound. His grip lessened, and I tried to sit up, to force him away from me, but he held on. I was ridiculously pissed but even more so mortified when he pulled my legs up to spread the soothing gel on my ass cheeks.
"There, hush. We're almost done," Al said placidly, pulling me up into sitting position. I grabbed one of the sheets and pulled it to me to cover myself, trying to keep the shaking in my chest from actually developing into noises. I struggled when Al's hand rested on the sheet, but he only moved it aside to bare my back to him. I caught my breath while he rubbed more aloe into my back, trying to ignore the comforting coolness his fingers spread into my aching skin so I could figure out how the fuck I was going to respond to this.
He hadn't taunted me, hadn't been rough or lingered over any part more than thoroughness required. But still, I knew he was enjoying it, because deep down if I admitted it, which I so didn't want to, I was enjoying his touch on my naked skin as well. His fingers working the aloe into my hips made my lips part, but I forced down the moan and was glad he couldn't see my face.
"Front now, Rachel. Then it's done and you can go back to sleep," Al said, his voice still carefully neutral.
"You're such a jerk," I muttered weakly, letting him turn me to him, and having to throw an arm out against his chest to keep from falling on him when I overbalanced on the bed. I pulled my hand back as if burned and glared at his nose, not daring to meet his eyes like this. Diplomatically, Al didn't respond, but took the front of the sheet from my clenched hands, letting it pool around my waist and exposing my naked chest to him.
His large hands started low, finishing covering my belly with the aloe mix and then running his hands up my ribcage. I gasped that time, couldn't help it, couldn't smother the sound in time, and Al's eyes darted to meet mine. He ran his fingers back up my ribs, rubbing the aloe in my skin, maybe pressing a bit harder than he needed, and carefully watching my face as he did it. I shivered, and a small smile graced Al's lips. His hands cupped my breasts, working the gel in underneath first, softly and smoothly gliding over my skin. I closed my eyes and told myself I wasn't going to do it, but when his thumbs slid over my nipples, my body reacted to his touch, tightening, hardening, and I moaned low and long at the caress.
Al's smile grew but he still didn't say anything, and I dropped my eyes, staring over his shoulder instead as he finished my front with feather-like brushes over my clavicles.
"There," he said simply. I didn't pull away, but he sat up. He wiped his hands on a white linen that had appeared in his grip before reaching back for me, letting his fingers linger over my unruly red curls. I didn't curse at him when he planted a cool kiss atop my head.
"Rest now, be pissy with me in the morning," Al said, the teasing finally returned to his voice. Before I could respond, he was gone, and I was alone in his bedroom feeling a strange mix of anger and calm, violation and undeniable arousal. But I wouldn't be doing anything about any of those feelings just yet. My head was still pounding, my thoughts fuzzy, confused, and still feverish. But the pain in my head was bearable now that my body didn't feel like a giant blister. I curled back up under the blankets, and I fell back asleep, still naked, in Al's bed.
I tried to blink the sleep from my eyes, wondering what the hell had woken my up. But then the yelling started again, and I knew what had pulled me from sleep.
I didn't have time to wonder how I could hear raised voices in other rooms if the rooms weren't connected by the customary assumptions about space. Al was suddenly back, standing with his hands on his hips and glaring at the older demon who unwisely poked him in the chest.
"I said I'm handling it! It's not a matter that requires the courts' interference!" Al fumed, and I hid further under the blankets, not knowing and not wanting to know why Dali was here and why Al was causing a scene. And certainly not wanting to advertise the fact that I was naked.
"Once is an accident, twice is lunacy. And if there's any basis for Newt's claims then you obviously aren't taking the necessary precautions," Dali huffed, his hand gesturing dramatically in my direction and even though I was scared stiff and confused as hell I had to bite back a grin at the clear demonstration of where Al had gotten his theatrics from.
"And I'm telling you Newt tampered with her, and I'm taking care of it now!" Al growled, his voice heavy as if it had actual substance to crush Dali's arguments.
"Tampered with her how? You've said yourself she's as teachable as a manic toddler and as tractable as a tiger."
"Hey!" I shouted, indignation thick in my voice, but they both ignored me, Al not even bothering to tell me to shut up.
"I don't know. Somehow in court or before or afterwards," Al grumbled, and that sounded weak even to me. I was just homesick, that's why I tried to jump the lines again, right?
"Prove it or shut up," Dali said, and Al's mouth opened and closed without another word. Dali eyed him, as if waiting for more, then rubbed at his temple in an unmistakably tired gesture. "If it happens again, she's to become a ward of the courts," Dali said. Al grimaced but didn't argue further, and Dali, with a blank look in my direction, disappeared into a line with just a shift of air pressure to show he'd gone.
"Well, you heard the man, Rachel. Stay out of the lines or your Newt's," Al said just as tonelessly as Dali had, and also disappeared before I could argue.
Alone again, my head ringing from interrupted sleep, confusion, and worry, I wondered not for the last time what the hell was going on and how the fuck was I supposed to get back to sleep now?
I know I might have tweaked canon a tad, but I seriously can't remember if we were ever given a solid reason about demons and the sun…and this way, I got Rachel naked in naughty nurse Al's arms…so yeah, works for me