Chapter 5

Mary-Lynette's POV

The next morning, Mary-Lynette was awakened by a searing pain in her chest. She let out a gasp before realizing the problem – damn heart disease. She rolled over to look at the clock, despite the pain. One in the afternoon! Oh wow! She'd pretty much slept half the day away! Oh well. Last night was most definitely worth it, she thought. Mary-Lynette started thinking about her magnificent grad night – the ceremony, the amazing decorations, the fun time with friends, and dancing with Ash. That's when it hit her. At grad, she had pretty much forgotten about the whole heart disease ordeal, despite her fainting spell. Now, however, the severity of the situation hit her full force. Tears began running down her cheeks and she slowly got out of bed and walked to the bathroom. When she went downstairs for a late breakfast – or rather, lunch – she was in control of herself and figured she could make it through the day without breaking down in tears.

"Morning sleepyhead," Claudine greeted the tired looking girl with a smile. "What time did you get in last night?"

"I have no clue," she replied. "It was sure a great night though."

As Mary-Lynette grabbed some food out of the cupboards, Claudine came and stood beside her.

"So who exactly is this Ash fellow?" she asked her with a knowing smile spreading across her face.

"He's the Redfern girls' brother. The second child I believe," she answered her casually.

"You told us that yesterday," Claudine answered. "What I meant was who is he to you?"

"Oh." Shoot. That had caught her off-guard for some strange reason. "He's my boyfriend."

"I don't remember you mentioning this before last night." She sounded somewhat confused. Mary-Lynette was thankful that her Dad was out or still sleeping or something, and not here.

"Well, he was living in another state for a while, so we haven't talked very much. I still really like him though, and I'm pretty sure he still likes me. So, I guess we'll try out this boyfriend-girlfriend thing for a bit this summer and see how things go."

Claudine simply looked at me. Mary-Lynette was certain that Claudine could tell that she wasn't telling her the whole story.

"Ummm, I think I might go visit the Redferns." she said after a few moments of silence. Throughout their conversation about Ash, Mary-Lynette had poured herself some cereal into a plastic bag, and was now proceeding to eat it dry. Claudine just sighed, still smiling. She started heading towards the door, hearing her footsteps behind her all the while. Turning around to say goodbye when she reached the door, Mary-Lynette noted that her expression had changed to one of worry. She gave her a questioning glance.

"Sweetie," she began. "I know this probably isn't my place to intervene, but if you and this Ash character are even a little bit serious, you should probably tell him about… well, you know what I'm talking about."

Mary-Lynette tried to smile back as she nodded. Of course I know what she means. There was only one problem: How do you tell the person you're supposed to be with forever that you've been given a death sentence?

Ash's POV

Ash's eyes opened as light streamed through a crack between the blackout curtains that covered his window. Well, now that he was awake, there was really no point in going back to sleep. I should probably go hunting. Ash had only stopped on the trip out here when he absolutely needed to, and didn't have time before or during Mary-Lynette's grad ceremony to sneak away and hunt quickly. He rolled lazily out of bed, thinking of the ceremony last night. Most of it had bored him – typical human stuff. However, Mary-Lynette's speech and overall appearance enthralled and captivated her sometimes superficial and shallow soulmate. She looked stunning in her dress that matched the night sky she so loves.

As he slowly got dressed, Ash heard a door open and close downstairs. He assumed it was one of my sisters. Probably hunting or going out somewhere or something.

"Hello!" he heard from below. It wasn't one of hid sisters though. It was Mary-Lynette! Ash hurried and finished changing before rushing down the stairs to see her. Her back was turned to him as he descended the staircase, so he figured that he would surprise her. Walking the quietest that he could manage, he snuck up behind her, sliding his arms around her waist and ducking his head by her ear to whisper to her.

"Hello Beautiful," he said.

Ash felt her jump slightly when he touched her due to the immediate fear of being snuck up on. Mary-Lynette then turned around so she faced him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Y'know," he started, "there's something I forgot to give you yesterday."

Before she could say anything or try to stop him, he bent my head down and kissed her softly on the lips. They were surrounded by the pink haze and all the pleasantness it brought with it, the soulmate bond thrumming between them. Their minds were connected to the point where they were almost one; thoughts flowing between them freely. But there was something she was trying to keep from Ash. Something she was trying to hide.

He broke the kiss off and she sighed out of what he assumed to be pleasure combined with the disappointment that he had stopped. Looking down at her, Ash decided to ask her about whatever it was she was hiding; almost certain it was connected to her fainting spell the day before.

Hey, do you figure I could ask you something? He asked her via the telepathic link that had been opened between them, not wanting to spoil the moment with voicing the question out loud. Not that this probably wasn't about to spoil the moment anyways.

Anything. She answered, her head resting gently on his chest.

Ash took one of his arms from around her back and used it to tilt her face up so she was looking at his.

"What was with the fainting spell yesterday? Please tell me. You were trying to keep something from me when we kissed too." Ash finally decided it was probably best to speak out loud now. It made everything seem so much more, concrete, per say.

Mary-Lynette sighed loudly.

"Well, I suppose I was going to have to explain this sooner or later, so it might as well be now while your sisters are out." She said, leading her soulmate towards the living room.

They sat down on the love seat, and she turned her body to face his.

"Okay," she began, taking a big breath as if to steady herself before speaking. "I've kinda sorta been diagnosed with heart disease."

I must say, she was very blunt about it all. The instant Ash heard "heart disease", he felt his entire body go numb. It was worse than being dumped in the Antarctic Ocean in the nude. Well, at least what he would imagine it would be like. All Ash could do was stare at her.

"Is-Is it….. fatal?" he finally choked out.

All Mary-Lynette did was nod. Tears were beginning to run down her face, and he wiped one off with his thumb before pulling her in close to his body. He could feel tears running down his own face as well.

It'll be OK, he kept telling her. We'll find a way to fix this. I swear.

They simple sat there holding one another until interrupted by Rowan and Kestral, who were returning from hunting.

Mary-Lynette pulled away from Ash when she heard the door closing. The girls had purposely closed it loudly – probably in some attempt to wake him from his supposed slumber. They then entered the living room where he and Mary-Lynette were seated. The girls took one look at their faces and seemed to know immediately what the problem was. They sat down on the couch across from them, sympathetic looks on their faces. Ash couldn't even speak to explain anything to them. He was too stricken with grief. My soulmate, my one and only, my bright shining star, my Mary-Lynette, has been condemned to death.

Mary-Lynette's POV

Mary-Lynette looked up at Ash as his sisters entered the room. He had tears resting on his face, so she reached up and wiped them off, knowing he wouldn't want his sisters to see him crying. He looked down at her as she did so, and she gave a small smile. He tried smiling back, but it broke apart, and he looked like he was going to cry again. Mary-Lynette couldn't bear looking at him like that.

Ash, she said to him, please don't look like that. You're making me want to cry just looking at you. You'll spoil your good looks if you keep it up.

Nothing matters in the world if you're not sharing it with me. The whole time I was gone I was missing you. I was trying so hard to prove myself to you in hopes that you'd take me back. Now, I don't know what to do. If you're not in my world, it's like a sky without stars!

She appreciated the reference to the stars, but it didn't change the facts. She was going to die. There was nothing anyone could do about it.

"So you've told him then?" Kestral asked from her position on the couch across from her and Ash.

She nodded in acknowledgment, the pain of it all clearly etched across her face.

"Well, um, you might not be a huge fan of this idea, but we think we may have found a solution," Rowan said gently.

Mary-Lynette looked at her in awe. A solution? She didn't care what it was. She would go to the ends of the universe and back if it meant that she could live and spend her life with Ash! Mary-Lynette glanced up at him, and his face mirrored her amazement.

"I'm assuming that means you're all for it," Rowan laughed gloomily.

Both soulmates nodded vigorously. There wasn't anything that either wasn't willing the give up – was there?