Disclaimer: The only thing I own is the plot.
Pain. Burning, searing, stabbing, throbbing pain was the only thing that existed in Artie's world. His skin felt like it had been cut in a thousand places and set on fire. He howled in agony, writhing on the bed as scar after scar appeared on his skin, copying Claudia's wounds exactly.
Waves of energy flowed out from Claudia into him, carrying her pain with it. She gasped with each pulse as the power of the tree surged through her solar plexus into his. She fought him, desperate to push him away, but it was no use. Artie's arms were locked tightly around her, refusing to let go.
The pulses got stronger as the worst of the scars erupted from Artie's flesh. She could only grunt as each powerful energy wave crested, feeling like she was being turned inside out. She glanced around wildly, looking for anything that would make Artie let go before she lost consciousness and with it the ability to stop him.
One final wave more powerful than all the rest surged through her, and for a brief moment Claudia was in freefall, her mind hovering in the space between their bodies. A pulling sensation not unlike gravity crept over her, and suddenly she was slammed back into her own body with enough force to knock her away from Artie's embrace.
Claudia hit the floor hard, the wind knocked out of her. Leena burst into the room as Claudia instinctively curled into a fetal position and gasped repeatedly, refilling her lungs bit by bit with sweet life-giving air.
Leena fell to her knees beside Claudia, helping the younger woman up so she could breathe easier. She cupped Claudia's smooth face to get her attention. "Claudia, what happened?" Leena grabbed her scar-less shoulders and shook her. "Claudia!"
Claudia looked down at herself and saw that she was whole again. She began to cry, great panicky sobs that made her breathing even more difficult. "Artie...held me...wouldn't...let go...took...pain..." Her face collapsed in guilt.
Leena stood and went to examine Artie. He was unconscious on Claudia's bed, his skin as marred as hers had been. I wonder if you knew you would take more than just her pain, Artie. She sighed heavily. I don't suppose it would have mattered either way, would it? Leena reached out and softly touched the tree bark growing over the wounds. MacPhearson's not here to sever your connection from the tree like he did hers. She gently touched his forehead and frowned. We don't have as much time to plant you, my friend.
Claudia stood, her legs shaky and her knees wobbly. She stumbled to the bed and sat down, her eyes never leaving Artie's form. She reached out a hand to touch him, and he whimpered slightly as she softly grazed her fingers on the tree bark that was spreading like a cancer. "Leena, why did he do this?" she whispered in a shaky voice.
"Because he loves you, Claudia, more than he loves his own life." Leena paused, weighing her next words. "Artie was going to go to the Asherah tree for an apple for your wedding, but MacPhearson warned him not to. He said that something 'painful and brave' and been done for Artie, and that Artie had to settle that debt before he could approach the tree." Don't ask me, Claudia, please don't ask me...
"What was done for him that would necessitate something as brutal as this?"
Leena closed her eyes and inwardly groaned. She took a deep breath. "Do you remember when both of you were downstairs in the recovery rooms?"
Claudia snorted. "How could I forget?" she answered bitterly.
"During that time, Artie went through a period where he thought you hated him because you never came to see him."
Claudia choked back her astonishment. "You can't be serious."
Leena nodded. "Quite serious. When it was at its worst, when we feared Artie might very well die, Myka put on Harriett Tubman's thimble and made one visit to him in reassurance that you didn't hate him." She drew a blanket over Artie's naked form. "She saved his life that day."
"But, I don't get it," Claudia said, shaking her head in confusion. "Why was it such a big deal?"
Pete and Myka walked into the room. "Because I was in love with him," Myka said matter-of-factly.
"What?" Claudia was in shock. Shock quickly faded to anger when she stood up. "I was across the hall sick, and you took the opportunity to impersonate me and get some on the side?" Claudia trembled with fury.
Myka held her ground. "I didn't impersonate you so I could get a quick fuck, Claudia," she snapped.
The younger woman's fury was dissipated by surprise. She had never heard Myka speak that way. She sat back down on the bed. "Why?"
Myka gave a humorless chuckle. "I loved him enough to want him to be happy, even if it wasn't with me. I put on the thimble and took your form so Artie could see that the woman he loved above all others didn't hate him." Her voice dripped with self-loathing. "I saved the man I loved so he could be with the woman he loved." Pete sat down in a nearby chair and pulled Myka onto his lap. He held her in silence, rubbing her back and playing with her hair with his fingers as she stared off into the distance, lost in her thoughts. She finally looked at him and smiled before resting her head on his chest.
Claudia stood and went over to the chair. "I'm sorry, Myka," she whispered. She felt terrible at how badly she had misjudged her friend. Myka gave her a small smile and squeezed her hand.
Taking a deep breath, Claudia turned to Leena and squared her shoulders. "Okay, so now we know why Artie did what he did. The question now is, how do we help him?"
Leena turned to Artie, her face contorted with sorrow. "I'm sorry, Claudia. There is no helping him."
"What?" Claudia stood in disbelief. "Of course there's something we can do! There's always something we can do!"
Artie coughed, rising to consciousness for just a moment. "Claudia," he groaned, waving her to him. She ran over to her bed.
"How can we fix it, Artie? How can we save you?"
Artie slowly shook his head. "There is no saving me. I have to be planted by the Asherah tree."
Claudia's face went white. "You're just not thinking because you're sick. Come on, Artie, think. What item in the Warehouse can stop this?"
He simply shook his head. "Nothing can fix this." He coughed as the tree bark slowly spread over his chest.
Claudia began to panic. "Artie, it's going to be okay. I'll find a way, you just stay there." She got up to move, but Artie clamped his hand down on hers, his eyes wide with fear.
"Don't go anywhere, Claud." His cough had gotten progressively worse, making him fight for every breath he took. "I want you to be the last thing I see."
Claudia leaned over, her hands on either side of his face. "Please don't leave me, Artie." Tears ran down her cheeks and dripped onto the spreading tree bark. "Everyone I love leaves me." Her breath caught in her chest. "Please?" she begged.
Artie pulled in a rasping breath. "I can't help it. I'm going somewhere, baby." He reached up his hand, pulled her face to his, and gazed into her eyes. "I love you, Claudia, with all my heart..." He fell back to the bed, unconscious.
Claudia thought she would sob harder, but her tears dried almost instantly. In a moment of clarity that one only encounters when one's worst nightmare has come true, she knew what to do. She got up from the bed, wrapped herself in another blanket, and said, "I'm going to the tree."
Claudia stood before the tree, uncertain as to how to proceed. She had ignored everyone's protests, and It had seemed like the proper thing to do, but now that she was here, she had no idea how to begin. After a moment, she cleared her throat and said, "Asherah tree, I would like an apple, please."
Nothing.
She tried again, feeling self-conscious from talking to herself. "Asherah tree, please give me an apple."
No air was stirring, not even a gentle breeze, but the tree began to sway, its leaves rustling together to make a sound. "Only men have ever approached the tree."
Claudia was startled. She hadn't expected the tree to speak to her, but she also hadn't expected the voice to be so, well, leafy. "I come on behalf of a man."
"What sort of coward makes his woman approach the tree?"
Claudia gritted her teeth, angry at the tree for calling Artie a coward and then then feeling foolish for getting angry at a tree. "He is no coward. He is dying from saving my life, and I need an apple to save his."
"Why did he not approach me for an apple first?"
She struggled to remember what Leena had told her. "He did not approach because he was told that something painful and brave had been done for him, and that he had to repay that debt before he could come to you." She was getting used to talking with the tree instead of to it.
"So he saved your life simply to repay a debt? That does not warrant an apple." The branches stopped swaying.
"But, but you don't understand! What he did was very brave! He did it out of love for me!"
The tree was motionless.
Claudia began to seriously panic. If she couldn't get an apple from the tree, Artie would die. What would she do without him? Who would she snark at? Who would drive her insane with endless lectures on mundane items? Who would hold her when she woke up from nightmares too terrible to describe? Who would comfort her, kiss her, love her, and allow her to love in return? Who would let her open her mind and her heart and be delighted by what was there? Who would make her feel like she really mattered in the world? Who would make her shine?
She fell to her knees, not caring if her blanket got ruined by leaves and dirt. She spread her arms wide, tears streaming down her face. "Please, tree, I beg you, please give me an apple to save Artie's life. Please let me save him. I love him." She put her face in her hands and sobbed. "Please don't take him away from me. I'll do anything you ask, anything."
Her heart jumped when she heard the leaves begin to rustle. "The price may be higher than you are willing to pay."
She stood up and brushed herself off. "Name it."
The leaves rustled a moment as if the tree was thinking. "In order to save his life, you must bind yours to it. His lifespan will be your lifespan. You will be alive only so long as he is."
"I'll be alive only as long as he is?" Claudia gulped, her mind racing. Artie is sixty-three years old. That would mean...oh God...
"If the price is too high..." The tree's branches began to slow down.
"Wait!" Claudia reached out to the tree. She didn't think through her decision; her only thought was, even if it means that I'll be alive just one more day, it will be one more day with Artie. "I agree to your price. My lifespan will be bound to his."
A heavy orb dropped into her hands. Claudia had expected a red apple, but the outside of the one she held was a bright shiny gold. "Feed him one half of the apple and eat the rest yourself. As you swallow the last bite, the deal will be struck." The tree's branches stopped moving.
Leena jumped when the downstairs door slammed shut. She heard someone rustling in the knife drawer, a triumphant "A-ha!" and then rapid feet up the stairs.
Claudia burst into the room, out of breath and flushed. She walked to the bed, carefully slicing an apple into thin slivers. Leena craned her neck to see what she had. "What is that?"
Claudia grinned like the Cheshire cat as she continued slicing the fruit. "It's an apple from the Asherah tree."
Leena's heart fell in foreboding. "Claudia, how did you get it?"
The younger woman looked at her as if she were a simpleton. "Duh, where do you think I got it?" She sat beside Artie on her bed. "I went to the tree myself." She dropped a thin slice into Artie's mouth, and even though he was unconscious, he chewed the piece of apple, swallowed it, and opened his mouth for more. Claudia fed him in this manner until half the fruit was gone. She sliced off pieces of the golden apple and began eating them herself.
When she got to the last piece, Leena said quietly, "The deal hasn't been struck yet, Claudia. There's still time to stop." At that, Claudia raised the final piece of apple into the air, dropped it in her mouth, chewed it up, and swallowed. Leena closed her eyes in resignation.
Claudia had expected something to happen, to somehow feel different, but nothing changed after she ate the last piece of apple. She was wondering if she had done something wrong when Artie began to tremble. His eyes flew open and he sat up, the tree bark falling away into ash and leaving fresh new skin in its place.
Letting out a whoop of victory, Claudia leaped onto her bed, straddling a very confused but very healthy Artie. He pulled back from her and cupped her face. "Claudia, what...when...how...?" His questions were silenced by a hearty kiss from the redhead in his lap. He pulled back from the kiss and beamed at Claudia, smiling in amazement. "However did you fix it?"
Claudia's grin faltered.
Leena had left the room to give them some time alone. "You really don't want to know," she said in a frightened whisper as she closed the door behind her.