House of Pain

Disclaimer: Hallow series belong to the wonderful Kim Harrison.

The last chapter! I want to thank everyone for reading this story and hopefully you all enjoyed it!Sorry it took long!

Chapter 10: Sweet Pain

Jenks flew close to my face. Those dragonfly-like wings stirring up the cold air causing me to get goose bumps down my neck. He had a huge grin while his arms were crossed over his chest. The pixie man was gloating because he was right. Just like he overheard, there were three black vans parked outside, waiting to be borrowed by us. Of course, I had no intention of returning the van. We could always abandon it somewhere deserted. Ivy opened the back doors with the keys she found from the unconscious witch. Lucky us, since I didn't have a clue on how to hot-wire a car. I can't speak for just myself, for all I know Ivy, David, or even Jenks might know how. Before leaving the back office Ivy had gotten the bright idea to search the sleeping witches' pockets. One of them had the keys to one of the vans.

With the back doors opened the three Werewolves begun to climb inside. They were beginning to show signs of wearing down. Trent and I made our way towards the passenger side. I was about to go in first, instead I decided to let Trent go first. He hesitated for a second. I guess he was not too thrilled about being in between a living vampire and a witch. I was beginning to feel the chilly weather seep in my wet clothes as I stood outside. If Trent didn't get inside quick enough I was going to shove him. Jenks was not the only one feeling the cold since that sneaky pixy buried himself inside my jacket's collar. Trying not to grunt too much, Trent finally made his way inside the van. I followed him and closed the door. Jenks climbed out of my jacket and sat on my earring.

Trent was not the only one trying to hide his pain. From the back I heard David grunt in pain as he tried to jump inside the van. Victoria's blow to his stomach must've been very powerful. I took a look behind me and noticed that David kept his face away from Ivy. He winced as he settled in the back of the van. Ivy was still able to notice.

"Do you want to sit in the front?" Ivy asked with a slight tenderness to her voice.

"It's nothing. I'm alright."

"You sure?" Ivy asked.

"David, it's no biggie. I can switch spots with you." I said. Not that I was thrilled about sitting with three Werewolves, even if they were exhausted.

"Really, I'm fine back here. Besides, I'm the only one qualified in here to calm down three young Werewolves."

Ivy wanted to continue to persist but something inside her caused her to stop. She backed away and began to close the two doors but not before David stopped her.

"Something wrong?"

"Thank you. The both of you." David said, flashing Ivy a small smile.

Ivy's face turned a light pink, "It was nothing." She seemed like she wanted to say something else. Instead she closed the doors and quickly walked to the driver's side. Putting the keys in the ignition she started the car but she didn't move.

"What's wrong Ivy?"

"Should I drop him off at his place then take everyone else at the church?"

I glanced towards Trent to get an answer. His eyes were closed and seemed to be in a deep sleep. I let out a sigh. I know it would be easier to drop him off at his place. "Let's go to the church. Quen is there."

She got the van in gear and headed towards the church. She kept the van at a reasonable speed. She did so to prevent anyone in the back from going all over the place. No one spoke while she drove home. David had his head resting on the side of the van, his eyes were closed but I wasn't certain that he was sleeping. I glanced at the outside world through the window. I became startled when Trent's head fell on my shoulder. I tried to push him off. He was in such a deep sleep and I didn't have the energy to keep pushing him away. I gave up from preventing him for using me as a pillow. Jenks was also resting on my shoulder. Guess it took a toll on the pixie. I glanced at Ivy who had a smirk on her face.

"It's not funny," I said.

"It kinda is. Seeing your boyfriend leaning on you."

"Ivy…"

"It's alright."

"No it's not. I lied to you. I'm so sorry that I wasn't honest. I should have told you the complete truth."

"I understand, Rache. You looked like a mess and I knew something was bothering you. I figured you would eventually tell me."

"Then why do I still feel guilty? I need to make it up to you, somehow."

Ivy's smile grew wider, "Sometimes I feel lucky to have great friends like you and Jenks. I wouldn't trade it for anything."

"Aww, how sweet. I think I'm going to puke," Jenks said from my shoulder.

"Would you rather sit with the werewolves?" Ivy said.

"I'm comfortable in here, thanks anyway."

"Yeah, because Rachel is everyone's pillow," I said.

I felt instantly better when our church was within view. As we pulled up I nudged Trent so he would get his elf butt out of the van. He woke up startled. And can you believe it, he gave me an annoyed look for waking him up?

"We'll take a look at the wound on your head then you can have tall freak pick you and Quen up."

He didn't say anything; I opened the door to let us out of the van. I walked towards the back of the van. I was able to see Ivy giving David a hand as he slowly got out. Ivy mumbled something to David who gave her a nod in return. I wasn't able to hear what she said, other than that there were no other sounds of movement. I glanced inside the van and noticed that all three werewolves were in their human form. All three of them were in a deep sleep, cuddled in a puppy pile. Ivy had gone inside the church and was back with three robes in her hand. The three of us helped to put a robe on the sleeping Weres. I was able to stand on my own but I was not feeling strong enough to carry one of them. Not being much of help I stood back to let them have more access to get the sleeping Weres out of the back of the van. I noticed Ivy look away when David picked up one of the girls. I guess I was having too much fun watching them that I didn't notice Trent limping towards me.

"Where's Quen?" He asked as he stood next to me.

"Inside. Need help?"

"I can manage on my own."

"Fine by me."

I walked towards the front door and held it open for David and Ivy. David carried both girls with ease while Ivy carried the ruffled blonde guy. Slowly Trent made his way towards the front door.

"Any day Trent." I said trying to sound inpatient. He only glared at me. I let go of the door and went to him.

"I said I can manage on my own."

"Yeah, well I don't want to freeze my butt out here any longer watching you move like a turtle."

He scoffed at me but didn't object as I helped him inside. We made our way inside towards the living room where the three sleeping Weres had been put in different chairs. Seeing that there were no extra chairs we went to the dining table. Ceri was kind enough to pull out some chairs for us. I took a seat and Trent took the chair besides me. I didn't see Quen anywhere. Ceri returned with a small basin filled with warm water and a clean cloth. She set it on the table between us. I turned around and noticed Quen in the kitchen with a pain amulet. I got up to scold at him for moving about while he was still hurt.

In the process of getting up Trent grabbed me by my arm, "Stay…please."

"Ok…fine…let go, so I can start cleaning that big bump on your head. I'm betting you will impress the ladies with it."

I remained standing up while I took the cloth and submerged it in the warm water. I squeezed it to get the excess water out and began to gently clean his wound. I continued to wet the cloth to get the dirt and blood off. None of us spoke to one another. Once in a while I would glance down at his face wondering what he was thinking. He was staring off into space, deep in his thoughts. I glanced around me to see what the rest were up to. Quen had settled down in the kitchen while taking a sip of the tea Ceri had made. David and Ivy had their own mug as they sat in the living room. I noticed they were having a quiet conversation. Jenks was most likely with his family, checking on Matalina.

I looked back at Trent and decided to break the ice. Besides, there was something that I was meaning to ask. "You're really quiet." That got me a look. "You were also really quiet while Vicky was having her rant. What were you thinking when she told everyone about…that night." I didn't want to look at his eyes and focused on the now cleaner wound. It was a minor cut but it would definitely bruise and maybe swell if he didn't get some ice.

He was looking directly at me when I glanced down at his face. His voice cut the through the silence, "I suppose I was surprised to hear the truth. I had kept telling myself lies, trying to deny that night."

I resumed cleaning the wound and I didn't know if I should feel insulted. But who am I to be mad. I also had tried to lie myself into believing that night had never happened.

"I don't know how to say this…but," he started, a shy smile spread over his face. I stopped cleaning the wound and looked at him. "When I regained consciousness I kept thinking about the things I've done in my life. The good and the bad. One of the memories that kept coming back to me was what I had tried to forget the most."

His gaze became more intense and the shy smile was gone. His face hat turned serious. "I was able to keep myself sane by thinking of you. I kept remembering our night together, the bits and pieces at least. I suppose I thought that if I was going to die in there at least something very special had happened to me."

I didn't say anything at first. I was too shocked and so I kept looking at him. When words finally formed the only thing I could say was this. "They really must've hit that head of yours really hard. You should expect to see a huge bump on that noggin."

He sighed, "Rachel. I mean it."

What happened next, I would like to blame it on my weakened state. He pulled me down, sitting down on his thighs, and he kissed me. Like I said I was weak and therefore I couldn't pull away. The Turn with it, I'll admit it, it was nice. For that moment I was lost in time as he kissed me. He pulled off from the kiss and I was left looking at his face. Something about him looked wrong. He looked like Trent but I was not used to having him look at me with such tenderness in those green eyes. Another thing I immediately noticed was how eerily quiet it had become. Quickly I stood up and glanced at their smiling faces. Of course I was a nice shade of bright red. The kiss got me feeling warm but this made me boil.

"What? Nothing to see. Carry on." I said and took the seat next to Trent.

Ivy and David went back to their conversation. Yeah, that will give them something to talk about. Ceri apparently had made a new batch of tea and was filling up her and Quen's cup. I glanced at Quen who had a huge grin on that scarred face. The amulet Ceri made him must be strong stuff since he didn't seem to feel any pain while he grinned. Ceri made her way toward us and handed us a cup of hot tea. I took a sip and felt much better. Instead of keeping the silence for long I started the conversation.

"Don't do that again elf." Of course I was not that mad since the corners of my mouth curved up slightly.

"By that, I take it not in front of everyone?" I felt his eyes on me while I looked down at the liquid inside my cup.

Looking up from my cup and into those eyes of his I said, "Yeah…not in front of everyone."

THE END