Dearka & Miriallia
Book II
Disclaimer: It is obvious by now if I'm here that I do not own Gundam SEED, Gundam SEED Destiny or any other Gundam Series. But any characters I create to place in this world are mine (But I don't mind if you guys want to use them too. I have no problem with that. You don't even need to ask me. I enjoy sharing to make other stories the best they can be.)
Chapter 24
Adrenaline
It was a peaceful, sunny day on Sextilis as Cadey hummed lightly. She had a very melodic voice that could rival even the great Lacus Clyne if she had so chosen that path.
"Cadey, I need to talk with you about something," Dearka called to her as he made his way toward the stables.
Cadey was standing in the Scarlet's stall, her beautiful Mahogany Bay Quarter Horse, as she turned to see the person interrupting her. She had been brushing her mane when he made his entrance.
"Dearka?" she asked questioningly.
She had known everything that had been happening up to this point in his life thanks to Kelley's updates, but she had no idea why the young man decided to pay her a visit. After all, it wasn't like she'd been up to anything as of late that required his attention.
"I really need to talk with you," he said sounding sincere.
Not acting like the Dearka she had grown accustomed to, her interest piqued. She eyed him carefully as he entered the stall with her. Scarlet neighed gently at the recognition of someone she hadn't seen in a while.
"Hey there Scarlet," he replied to the horse now nuzzling at his chest.
"She really likes you," Cadey said solemnly.
Dearka smiled at Cadey in the way only he could, making her almost melt in her spot. His hand gently stroked the horses' nose as he turned to reach in the bin behind him and grabbed some apple pieces out. Scarlet gratefully accepted the treat as she nibbled from his hand.
"You know, you're teaching her a bad habit. If you keep feeding her that way she's going to think everybody's hands carry treats," Cadey scolded.
Dearka chuckled as he continued to feed the animal while stroking her nose.
"She hardly sees me anymore, I don't think you're going to have a problem with that," Dearka said not taking his eyes off the Bay. After all, he didn't want her to accidentally nibble his fingers off in the process of cleaning out all the remaining apple remnants.
In most cases it would be strange for someone to see this side of Dearka, but not to Cadey. She had learned very early that he had quite an affinity for animals, especially her prize-winning Bay.
He had done a good job at creating his image as the insensitive jerk that didn't give a damn about anyone or anything. The only ones who really knew what he was like were the people he chose to keep close to him. Anyone else only saw the façade in place.
The statement he made finally hit and seemed to make Cadey feel slightly depressed now. She knew it wasn't a social call that he was here for, but part of her wished he would pretend, even if just for a little while.
"You needed to speak with me about something," she said in a monotone.
Slipping his feeding hand away from Scarlet, he wiped it on the side of his pants in an attempt to dry off some. He stepped to the side a bit and continued to stroke her moving to her neck and mane to stand closer to Cadey.
Cadey felt his close proximity and blushed slightly. She had missed being near the man next to her. The light, sexy scent of his cologne almost made her woozy.
"I think it's time I tell you the truth about something that happened a long time ago. The problem is, I know you're not going to be happy about it," he replied as she continued to brush Scarlet.
Her hand slowed in the strokes as she looked up at him. His eyes looked uncertain as they danced on her horse in front of him.
"You're making me nervous Dearka," she said.
It was obvious by now to her that this had nothing to do with the situation they were in.
"Call this a way to clear my guilty conscience. I know it's a little selfish, but someone said something that made sense to me and I figured it was time to come clean about a few things. You know a way to start my life over with a clean slate. At least as clean as I can get it," he finished.
Cadey nodded with understanding. "So what did you do when we were together that you feel so guilty about?"
Dearka could hear the sarcasm in her voice. It wasn't often he felt guilty about something he did, especially not in the last couple of years they had been together for.
Never looking at her, he replied to her question and blurted it out as fast as he could. "I slept with Kelley."
Cadey's eyes widened in horror at his statement, it couldn't be; her best friend would never do such a thing to her. There was just no way.
Her eyes slipped from their widened state and slit in anger. "What…did you just say?"
The pause in her question made him realize she was hoping he hadn't said what he did. He took a deep breath before repeating his confession. "I said that I slept with Kelley."
"Why are you telling me this? What's in it for you?" she snapped.
Her raised voice startled Scarlet, forcing her to jump sideways in fear. Dearka grabbed Cadey and threw her out of the way as he felt the horses' side smack into his back forcing him to the ground.
Luckily for Cadey, Dearka's reaction was quick enough to keep her out of harms way. Although he ended up receiving all the brute strength of the horse in the stall, he was able to push Cadey toward the stall door and regain his stance.
Cadey slipped out the door, knowing it was what Dearka had been trying to accomplish when he tossed her out of the way since she was the cause of Scarlet's distress. She watched, as he was able to twist himself around cautiously and gain Scarlet's attention. He moved in front of her slowly and relaxed while looking at the ground in an attempt to calm her.
"That a girl Scarlet, drop down," he hushed to the horse with a confident voice. She followed his instruction and dropped her head down.
Cadey was thoroughly impressed he remembered how to use her 'calm down' cue. He gently began to rub her neck and withers again causing her to neigh softly, the way she had when he first entered the stall. When she was calm again, Dearka backed out slowly and slipped through the door.
"Are you all right?" he asked, as he looked Cadey up and down, practically spinning her around to make sure she wasn't hurt in anyway.
"I think so," she replied.
"What's wrong with you? You know better than to yell around Scarlet," he scolded.
"I'm sorry, but what did you expect? You could have talked to me outside the stall you know," she snapped quietly.
"Then who would have been in there to save you?" he smirked.
"You know what I meant, you jerk," she answered back.
"I didn't think you'd react that way while you were grooming her," he admitted feeling slightly dense.
After all, why wouldn't she react that way? It wasn't like he was saying he left the door open and the family cat got out for a quick jaunt before feeding time. It was much more devastating regardless of their current situation.
"Let's go, we've upset her enough today. We can talk outside or if you would rather beat me, I'd understand," he replied trying to make light of the situation.
"I don't think I have to beat you, Scarlet did that for me. How about you? Are you all right?" she asked a bit concerned.
It wasn't like Scarlet was a foal, she was over 1000 pounds and it had all just smacked into her ex's back.
"I'm okay right now, but I have a feeling it was just the adrenaline. Tomorrow, I may not be so lucky," he said shrugging as if it was a minor nuisance.
"Really Dearka, we should have you checked out. That's a lot of force that just slammed you to the ground," she reprimanded.
"Alright on one condition," he said looking upon her softly.
"Anything if you listen to me for once in your life," Cadey said without question.
"You don't even want to hear what my condition is?" he asked perplexed.
"It doesn't matter what it is," she said pushing her hand into his back to earn a grunt from him, "you're hurt and I'll do whatever you want to make sure you're okay."
Dearka didn't argue anymore. The adrenaline rush that had made it easy to protect Cadey, get back to his feet and calm Scarlet down was now dissipating and he was beginning to feel the repercussions of his heroism much sooner than he had predicted.
He followed her to the house and walked through the front entrance. It had been quite awhile since he'd been there. Everything looked exactly as he remembered it; the marble staircase, the red carpet draped down the center and all the expensive paintings that lined the walls looking as pristine as ever. Cadey grabbed his hand and brought him upstairs to her room, calling the physician from her cell phone.
When they entered, flashes of his past came back to haunt him. "Just lay down on the bed," Cadey ordered after she hung up with the doctor.
Dearka raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm not going to do anything to you, you don't need to give me that look," she scolded. He watched as she walked over to her desk and pulled out the chair.
As she sat down, she decided to ask him how things were going. "So how are you doing with ZAFT and all?" she asked.
"Is that really what you want to ask me about?" Dearka coaxed.
Cadey looked away from him, but answered nonetheless. "No," she replied shortly.
"I'm happy with her Cadey. I hope you can understand that and let this all go now. I made it clear that I'm starting my life over from where it left off with her and that includes no longer keeping secrets from the ones I care about," he replied.
"So, are you saying you care about me?" Cadey asked as she read into his statement.
"I'll always care about you, no matter how angry you make me. But it's not the same as the way I feel about her. It's just different," he replied.
"Well, if you ever change your mind…" she began.
The frustration Dearka felt was growing. It was the last thing he would want anyone to do after everything he'd been through. After all, he should know better than anyone, it was just plain torture. Miriallia's state of mind when he finally met up with her was proof of that.
"Don't do that Cadey. Don't wait around for something that isn't going to happen. I know there has to be someone else out there for you. There was someone before me and I'm sure there's going to be someone after me as well," he said in earnest.
"Don't you mean the next one Daddy sets me up with? You can't be that naïve to believe I'm going to get to choose someone. In the end you really didn't get a choice, did you?" she questioned.
It made Dearka stop to think. She was right. In the end, his father had made the decision for him. Although he and Miriallia had every intention of doing it on their own, his father had made the choice for them.
"Fair enough, but it was what we both wanted," Dearka answered.
"Oh please, even if it wasn't what you wanted, you would have still had to do it. It's not like you could say 'no' to him with what he had to hold over you," Cadey snipped.
"I don't know what you want from me Cadey. Either way, I'm not the man for you," he snapped back at her.
Cadey composed herself after his last comment. "Look, forget it. Could we talk about something else please?" she asked.
Before he could answer they turned to the sound of a knock on the door. "Come in," she beckoned.
The door opened to reveal a beautiful woman who was almost identical to Cadey, only a bit older. "Dearka? Dear, what are you doing here?" she asked.
Dearka tried to sit up as he spoke. "Mrs. White, I'm sorry I didn't announce myself earlier. I went straight to see Cadey," he replied cringing.
Cadey ran to his side and helped him back down on the bed. "Stop moving, you're hurt," she scolded.
"What happened to him Cadey?" Mrs. White asked curiously entering the room.
"He had a run in with Scarlet. I was grooming her and he happened to be there when I accidentally startled her. He pushed me out of the way and she knocked him to the ground," Cadey stated.
Dearka threw his arm up over his eyes. The pain was growing more quickly than he'd expected it to. He bit down on his lower lip and cringed from the throbbing.
"You called the doctor, didn't you?" Mrs. White asked.
"Of course I did!" Cadey snapped back in irritation.
"Don't yell at your mother like that Cadey," Dearka painfully scolded. He knew she and her mother didn't have the best relationship, but most of the time he noticed it was due to Cadey's mood swings or agitation with being questioned.
"You don't have the right to scold me; you gave that up when you left, remember?" Cadey snipped at him now.
"You know what, I'll wait downstairs for the doctor to arrive and give you two some time alone. It's obvious there are some loose ends that need to be tied up between the two of you," Mrs. White said considerately.
She quietly left the room and shut the door behind her. Anyone could see the hurt on her face from her daughters' reaction to her.
"Good riddance," Cadey huffed under her breath.
It was something that completely drove Dearka insane, especially now with the problems with his own mother.
"Sweetheart, you really need to see someone about those mood swings of yours. You should totally be on medication," Dearka stated.
"I don't think you have any room to talk. I heard what happened between you and your parents. And if I'm irritable it's your fault," Cadey said moving him slightly to get another pillow under him.
"You're beyond irritable Cadey. You snap at everyone and about everything," he reprimanded.
"And how would you know that? You haven't been around me in months," she replied.
"I don't need to be around you to know what you've been doing. You aren't the only one that gets updated on things you know," he said insinuating Kelley's assistance.
"Oh that's right, you've been sleeping with that backstabbing tramp," Cadey said viciously.
Dearka could see the anger in her eyes turning them red. "She's not a tramp and it was only one time, a long time ago. I took advantage of her when she was having all those problems with Ian. You sided with him if you remember and I saw she had no one to turn to. It's something I'm not proud of and she's finally forgiven me after all this time. She was terrified that you would find out and blame her for the entire thing, when I was to blame for most of it. Why do you think she's hated me for so long?" Dearka defended.
"That's supposed to be an excuse? She was my best friend and only now you guys are telling me what happened? Why even bother? Oh wait, that's right, God forbid you don't have a clean slate to start your new life with and to hell with everyone else's feelings," Cadey replied angrily.
"She's wanted to tell you for a really long time. You know how vain I can be. I just didn't want to be in the middle of a feud if it happened to break out," he said with a smirk.
Cadey began laughing to herself. It was as if reality had hit her. Kelley had despised Dearka for so long and now she knew the real reason. She had been seduced by his natural charm and his ability to get any woman into bed with him. She was angry with herself and with him for taking advantage of her and no matter how many times she'd ask Kelley what her problem with Dearka was she would go silent. Now she knew; Dearka had probably twisted the possible scenario around to scare Kelley into not mentioning it so his ego wouldn't be crushed at the time. He wanted her to believe he could be a potential rift in their friendship.
Dearka knew what Cadey probably thought and intentionally lead her astray on the path. He had promised not to lie, which he hadn't, to Cadey and he made sure that Kelley would be out of harms way of Cadey's likely retaliation. He made an oath to take the hit and he was going to keep his word. What conclusions she jumped to on her own were her problem, not his.
"Look, I'm going to tell Ian about it too. I made a promise to Kelley that I would fix this. It's been years that she's been living with what happened, always afraid of what would happen when it finally came out. But, it's time to just leave the past in the past and move on. I didn't do it to hurt you or to screw around with her head. It was just the type of person I had become back then and I'm looking to break that. This is the only way I know how to free her and start my own life over," he said in earnest.
Before Cadey could say another word, she heard another knock at the door. "Come in," she beckoned again.
She was in luck, this time the family physician had arrived. The doctor walked in and saw Dearka with his face twisted in pain, although he was trying his best to hide it.
"What do we have here?" Dr. Devours asked.
"He was knocked to the ground by Scarlet today," Cadey answered for him.
Dr. Devours moved over to the two of them and began reaching in her bag. "Would you help him sit up for me please and help him unbutton his shirt?" she asked as she knelt in front of the bed.
Cadey did as she was asked and kept Dearka steady as he felt the cold stethoscope hit his chest. The doctor stood up and moved her hand behind him making his chest pop slightly when it hit his back.
He didn't even need to be coached to take the deep breaths. He was pretty good at knowing what was coming from all the physicals he had to endure as a soldier. But, he knew Cadey wasn't in the least bit upset about helping him sit up straight while his shirt was unbuttoned. If she'd had it her way, she would have probably torn the thing right off his back.
Cadey's hand slowly moved over his chest making him shudder slightly from the touch as the doctor unnoticing went about the physical. Deciding to kill any moment Cadey was creating for herself, Dearka spoke again.
"Nice ring by the way," Dearka said lifting his hand up to show it off to her.
"You liked that, huh?" Cadey replied feeling her moment crushed.
"Were you trying to prove a point with these?" he asked trying to rub it in that he was happily married to someone other than her.
"No, I just thought you deserved the best, that's all," she lied.
"Sure you did," he replied sarcastically.
He continued to follow Dr. Devours instructions and he noticed Cadey pull away from him slightly. "My comment must have worked. She's backing off a bit," he thought as he was helped to his feet.
He snapped out of his reverie as the doctor spoke to him. "It doesn't look like anything is broken. But, you will still need an x-ray as soon as you get back to your own physician. I don't see anything that would cause me to believe you are in any eminent danger. You're a pretty strong man and physically fit, but you will definitely be feeling this hit for a few weeks as I can already see the bruise on your back forming. I'll prescribe you something for the pain, but only for a few days. That should be enough for you to be checked out at home I presume?" she asked.
"Uh, yes ma'am, and thank you for seeing me on such short notice," he replied.
"It's no trouble. Just remember not to overdo it right now. You are going to be extremely stiff from this, but overall you'll come out of this just fine. Like I said there is no sign of any permanent damage. Just make sure to get the x-ray to verify that though," she ordered.
"Don't worry Dr. Devours, he will. I'll make sure of it," Cadey replied earning an eyebrow raise from Dearka.
The doctor packed up her bag and handed Cadey the prescription she'd written and headed out. When the door to the bedroom shut, Cadey heard Dearka voice his concern with her comment.
"Um, Cadey?" he began.
Cadey turned in his direction with a look that always scared him. It was the look of her determination. It was the fact that nothing could change her mind when she had this face on.
"I want to meet her, face-to-face," Cadey replied walking to her closet and grabbing a bag.
"Wait, what?" Dearka cried.
How did he go from just telling her about Kelley to having to take Cadey to meet Miriallia? "When did she decide this?" he thought in a panic.
"Are you crazy? No way!" Dearka yelled.
"Look, either you take me with you or I'll just follow you there. It's your choice. Just remember it's easier to keep me under control when I travel with you," she said with a smile and a wink.
"Now hold on a second, how do you even know I'm going back to see her?" Dearka asked almost wanting to hit himself in the head when he realized he already knew the answer.
"Never mind my last question, the answer is NO!" he snipped still panicked.
"What? Are you afraid I could ruin everything for you?" Cadey smirked.
Dearka could only think of one reason why she wanted to go. "I already told her about us and what happened that night Cadey," Dearka said solemnly.
Cadey turned around not expected to hear that he had told his wife about their night together. "So, you're just letting everything out in the open, aren't you?" Cadey replied trying to act as if that wasn't one of the reasons she wanted to tag along.
"So you see; there is no reason for you to come with me. It'd just be a waste of your time," Dearka finished ignoring her comment.
"I'm still coming with you. I told you I WANT to meet her face-to-face!" Cadey demanded.
Dearka's face looked dumbfounded. He was sure that would stop her from trying to follow him, but it failed miserably. He knew it was a bad idea and decided maybe he could appeal to her sweet and sensitive side.
"Really, this isn't the best time Cadey. If I can't convince you to not bother with this, can I at least get you to wait a while? Nora was just released from the hospital last week and I really want to spend some time with them. I just want to have a chance to enjoy this moment without worrying about what you and Kelley are up to. It's not about Miriallia and I, this is about me and my daughter," Dearka begged.
"No, I'm not waiting! And you don't need to worry. I won't do anything to interfere with you trying to bond with your daughter. I didn't get in your way with Belle, did I?" she asked.
Dearka twisted his face with an 'are you serious' look. "Oh alright, I didn't get in your way after you got her back from me, right? In fact, I helped you if you remember correctly," Cadey said realizing what his look was for.
"Cadey…" Dearka began.
"I won't do anything, I promise. No more kidnappings and I won't start anything with your wife. If you really want closure and a clean slate, you'll let me come along Dearka," Cadey reasoned with him.
His pleas were unanswered. The moment she spoke he realized she didn't have a sweet and sensitive side anymore. He took a deep breath before speaking again.
"I'll have to run it by Miriallia first. I'm not going to just show up on our doorstep with you in tow. I won't let you force me into that," Dearka replied.
"Fine, call her. I'm sure she's going to agree. I have a feeling she wants to meet with me as much as I want to meet with her," Cadey stated with certainty.
"All right, but don't be disappointed if you're staying behind," Dearka said as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket.
"Good, we'll stop at the drugstore on our way out of the city," Cadey said ignoring him and packing as he began to dial the number.