Disclaimer: I do not own Wolfblood.
Episode Seven, Part 1 - "Aftermath"
When they arrived back at the house, Emma and Jana were already up in the spare room, waiting. They had spread out an old, dark sheet on the bed and Dan lay Rhydian down on it as gently as possible.
The movement seemed to stir Rhydian.
"He woke up briefly on the way here too," Dan said quietly.
Rhydian's eyes fluttered very slightly open and he started scanning the room for Maddy immediately.
"I'm here, Rhydian," she whispered from by his side, taking his hand tightly in hers.
Even though he was only half conscious and in a lot of pain, he somehow managed to force out a very weak smile when he saw her. He squeezed her hand as tight as he could.
"Hey," he said, his voice rough and husky. "You OK?"
"Hi," Maddy nodded and giggled a little because it was so like Rhydian to be starting casual conversation when his life was pretty much hanging in the balance. They stared at each other for a few minutes as everyone bustled around them, and Maddy leaned forward to kiss his cheek.
"Maddy, why don't you go downstairs and help dad make some tea while Ceri and I sort Rhydian out?" Emma suggested, her voice soft but firm.
Maddy looked up at her mum. "I want to stay."
"It'd be best if you went downstairs, pet."
Reluctantly, Maddy looked back to Rhydian and bit her lip. Rhydian smiled weakly at her again, squeezing her hand. "Go, Maddy. I'll be fine."
"I love you." Maddy said.
"I love you too."
She leaned forward one last time and pressed a kiss to his lips this time. Rhydian didn't have the strength to kiss her back properly so it was just one kiss, but one kiss that said so much. And then Maddy stood up and walked out of the room, reluctance showing in her every step.
Dan, Aran, Gerwyn and Jana followed her and Dan put the kettle on; so casually, as if someone's life wasn't in danger right in that moment.
"How can you make tea at a time like this, dad?" Maddy asked as she sat down at the table, her voice rough and rasped. Aran and Jana headed out in to the garden for some space; Jana was worried sick about Rhydian and she didn't want to make it worse for Maddy.
"Tea makes things easier, pet."
She rolled her eyes good-heartedly. "Of course it does."
And then silence fell on the kitchen; complete and utter silence. If Maddy listened carefully she could hear the movement upstairs and both her mum and Ceri's voice coming up every now and again. But it wasn't really something she wanted to hear; it just made her want to be up there with him.
She didn't know why she'd let them make her go downstairs in the first place.
An hour went by. A silent, cold, and tense hour.
Maddy spent the whole time sitting at the table, her hands together shakily on the wood and her eyes staring straight ahead. Her dad had made her a cup of tea as soon as they got downstairs, but it was still sitting on the table next to her, now cold. And a couple of times Gerwyn had tried to make conversation with Maddy, but they were both so terrified that it never worked.
When the three of them heard the sound of a door opening and then closing again upstairs, and then the sound of footsteps on the stairs, Maddy's heart started racing just a little inside her chest.
Emma and Ceri appeared at the bottom of the stairs in to the kitchen seconds later. Emma had a few spots of Rhydian's blood on her arms, Ceri's hands covered in what looked like Wolfblood remedies, and their hair was now sticking to their faces a little around the edges, but they didn't look worried or tense anymore which Maddy took as a good sign. Instead, Emma had a warm look in her eyes and they both had small smiles on their faces.
Maddy's heart leapt as she stared at her mother expectantly.
"Rhydian's fine," Emma said finally, her voice soft and steady. She was looking at Maddy. "His injuries are serious, but he's fine. His pain levels are quite high, though, and he's trying to get some sleep now. Ceri used some Wolfblood healing potions on him. His body had been put through a lot of trauma. If it wasn't for Ceri…he wouldn't be alive. I couldn't have done it without her."
Ceri smiled at Emma.
"Thank you," Maddy whispered to Ceri who turned to smile at her too. "Thank you, Ceri. And mam."
"Of course." Ceri said, smiling gently.
"Can I go up and see him?"
"Yes. But he might be asleep."
Standing up, Maddy rushed over to her mum and wrapped her in to a tight embrace, burying her head in to Emma's shoulder. "Thank you. Both of ya."
"Of course, pet. Now go up and see him. He asked for you. We'll update Jana and Aran."
A small smile graced Maddy's face as she walked up the stairs, two at a time, and rushed towards Rhydian's bedroom door.
She pushed the door open slowly and hesitantly, peeking her head around the wood to see if he was awake or not.
His eyes were closed and his body was limp as he lay on his back. Emma had tightly bandaged all around his now-shirtless stomach and his bare arms, along with some plasters over the cuts on his pale face. There was what looked like various Wolfblood remedies spread on his skin.
When Maddy started in to the room after shutting the door behind her, Rhydian's left eye opened halfway.
"Hey," he whispered groggily.
"You're awake," Maddy responded, speeding up her pace towards his bed. She paused in front of him.
Rhydian tried to nod, but it hurt too much. "Yeah."
"How do you feel?"
"I can't really move without it really hurting," he said, his eye now closed again. His voice was somehow even rougher and raspier than it had been when they had first gotten him home, and Maddy could tell just by the way he was holding himself that he was feeling weak. "And I'm exhausted. Really, really exhausted."
Hesitantly, Maddy reached out and took his hand in hers.
"Lie with me." His voice came up in to the silence a few moments later.
"I don't want to hurt ya."
"You won't," he reassured her, his tone sincere.
Maddy brought her knee up on to the bed and then begun settling herself beside him, taking extra care not to nudge the bed too much. At one point she moved too quickly and the mattress bounced, causing Rhydian to grumble slightly in pain.
"Sorry," Maddy whispered, biting her lip.
"It's okay."
Now settled comfortably on her side and facing her injured boyfriend, she reached out and took his hand again. Despite his injuries and the fact he wasn't wearing a shirt, he was really warm. He was always so warm.
Maddy's hands were cold and when her skin touched Rhydian's, he frowned.
"You're cold," he pointed out, opening his eyes sleepily.
"I noticed." Maddy giggled.
Rhydian grinned feebly and finally looked up at her, their eyes meeting in a perfect moment. "I would hug you to keep you warm but I can't move."
Biting her lip for a moment, Maddy looked all over his face. His skin was slightly pale but there was no dried blood there anymore; only a couple plasters here and there. She hadn't noticed before but there was also a big wound on his neck that was now covered by a huge, square plaster.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Rhydian asked, his gaze still fixed on his girlfriend.
Maddy seemed to snap back in to reality and she looked back to his face. "I'm just sorry, Rhydian."
"Why are you sorry?" He looked almost alarmed.
"Because it was our fight. That Wildblood was going for me but you took the fall for us, and now look what it caused. You're hurt."
"Hey, I'd rather it be me than you," he said sincerely, his forehead wrinkled together slightly. He wanted so badly to reach out and hold her, but he couldn't move. "I couldn't stand it if I'd just let you get hurt. Speaking of, how are your cuts and bruises? The wolf scratched your arm pretty badly…"
Maddy rolled her eyes playfully. "Who cares about my cuts and bruises? They're nothing compared to yours." She reached her hand out and gently, oh so gently, touched the skin around the cut on his neck. And then the bandage on his shoulders, and then she traced her finger all the way down his warm torso until she reached the bandage. The whole time she was touching him, he was watching her face intently, shivers rising on his bare skin. Her hand came up and she touched his neck again, tracing the outline of the plaster.
"I guess I can't kiss your neck anymore," Maddy said, and a smirk erupted on to Rhydian's face.
"Damn, I am really going to miss that."
"You can still kiss mine," she replied, trying to cheer him up, "well…when you can move again anyway."
Rhydian grinned, chuckling weakly.
"Jana's worried about ya," Maddy said after a few minutes of silence. "She had to go outside with Aran. I think she didn't want to make me feel worse, but I knew she was anxious."
"Mum will tell her I'm fine."
Maddy nodded. When she spoke again, her voice was tiny and she wasn't quite meeting his eyes. "She really cares about ya,"
"I know," Rhydian said. "I care about her, too."
Attempting to shuffle closer, Maddy rested her head on the pillow and tried not to move too much.
She brought her hand up again and traced light circles on the skin over his shoulders and neck with the tip of her finger. Then she started running her fingers through the short hair at the back of his neck, feeling the spiky yet soft locks slip between her small fingers.
"Mmm," Rhydian mumbled contentedly, his eyes falling shut as he tried to get himself more comfortable. The feel of her fingers in his hair and on his skin was comforting to him. "Nice."
Maddy smiled, and they slipped in to silence for a few minutes.
"Do you want me to leave you to sleep?" She asked. Her hand was back down on the bed now.
Rhydian shook his head. He winced from the pain. "No."
"Shall I stay while you sleep?"
"Yeah."
Smiling, Maddy brought her hand up once more and pushed her fingers in to his hair from the front this time, lightly playing with it. Rhydian let out a weak smile and mumbled contentedly.
"Love you, Mads." He muttered.
"Love you too."
"Rhydian," Jana sighed as she walked in to Rhydian's bedroom, flooding with relief as she saw him lying awake, his wounds bandaged. Maddy was lying on her side next to him and she sat up when Jana came in. It was an hour after Rhydian had had a nap; Maddy had spent the whole time awake, watching him and appreciating hearing him breathe beside her.
Rhydian grinned. "Jana." He said happily.
"You're okay!" Jana grinned too and walked over to the bed where Maddy was standing up.
Rhydian watched as Maddy stood up and smiled softly at him.
"I'll go for a bit," she said.
"You sure?" Rhydian asked, frowning slightly and reaching out to hold her hand.
"Yeah, I don't mind you being here, Mads." Jana added.
"It's fine." Maddy gave Rhydian's hand a squeeze before letting it go and smiling at Jana. And then she walked out, closing the door quietly behind her.
Jana sat on the bed next to Rhydian.
"Thank you, Jana, for helping us back there," Rhydian said, looking up at her from his lying down position.
Jana shrugged. "We weren't just going to let you do that on your own, were we?" She smiled encouragingly and he smiled too.
"How did you know we needed help, though?"
"Ceri told us.…"
"How did she know?"
"Eolas," Jana shrugged again. "Aran and I were in the kitchen and she just came running in, looking all scared and worried and she told us that there was something wrong. So we ran. We knew we had to help you."
"Well, you're literally to thank for my life right now." Rhydian smiled.
Jana laughed and reached forward to take his hand, squeezing it fondly. "I'm so glad you're okay, Rhydian. I don't know what I would have done if you had…you know…"
"You don't have to think about that now. I'm okay."
Jana smiled. "And I missed you while you were in Canada. It wasn't the same without you here!"
Rhydian smiled too, and then his smile turned in to a mischievous grin.
"What?" Jana asked, frowning curiously, a slight smile still on her face.
"So…," Rhydian started expectantly, "you and Aran…"
Jana smiled more, feeling her cheeks flush with shades of red as she looked down. "What about us?"
"Why did he come back? And how did you get him to stay? Come on, I know something must have happened..." Rhydian let go of Jana's hand and poked her in the ribs playfully, a grin on his lips and now on Jana's, too.
"Nothing happened! I just…told him I wanted him to stay."
"But why did he come back in the first place, hey? For you, maybe?"
Jana gave Rhydian a look as she giggled and watched him grinning at her, still poking her in the ribs occasionally. She was blushing furiously.
Just as she took a breath to speak, there was a knock at the door.
"Come in," Rhydian said.
The door opened and in walked Aran, his head hanging slightly low but his eyes straight on to Jana.
"Hey, Aran," Rhydian said, a knowing smirk on his face.
"Rhydian," Aran nodded to Rhydian in acknowledgment, "good to see you well," he said, before walking to Jana. "Jana, I am going hunting. Do you want to join me?"
Jana smiled up at Aran. "Sure. Is that okay, Rhydian?"
"Fine by me," Rhydian said. He would have shrugged if it didn't cause him agonising pain.
Jana took Rhydian's hand again and gave it a squeeze before standing up. She took Aran's hand in hers and then they walked out of the room, leaving Rhydian on his own again.
But not for long, because after a few minutes Maddy came back in without knocking and closed the door behind her. She smiled at him. He smiled back.
And then she crawled on to the bed beside him again and lay on her side, her chest pressed against his arm. They talked, and laughed, and Maddy had never felt so glad to have Rhydian beside her.
A/N: I know, I know, it's been forever since I last updated! And I am really sorry. I truly am. Buuuut I did warn you guys that college has started again and that I might not be able to update as often. But I'll try not to leave it as long this time!
Hope you liked this chapter. Thanks for all your wonderful reviews on the last one!
So, eventually of course this story will be drawing to a close and whilst I'm not sure how exactly to end it, I'm also not sure how soon it'll be ending. There's still quite a few more chapters left though, so don't despair! I'm debating writing a sequel, but it depends if I find an idea for it. I don't want this to end! But I also don't want to bore you by adding on pointless chapters, if you get me. It's not over yet though :)
Let me know what you thought of this chapter in a review! Love you guys :)
Love :* xxx
PS. I'm making fanvideos now! The link to my YouTube channel is in my profile if you wanna check them out :)