A/N: Lemon in the next Chapter (two actually...sorta, one good one bad) Review this one and get it faster! Not beta'd. Too tired to send to Ky. Give her my love.

Quick recap: Will and Jem separated due to break and Will being found out. Jem has been staying with Professor St. Laurence now, and Jean-Luc has kept the boy close; especially after the whole scary run in with the law at school and the infection...

Tears From the Moon

Chapter 10. Draw Your Sword

This house is cold and empty
Just a ghost of who I used to be
Staring my own reflection
Wonder if it even recognize me

Last night I heard you whisper
Everything is fine cause I am here
I am here
Last night I saw your shadow
But when I called your name you disappeared
You disappeared

~Broken, by Trifonic

"He's still asleep…" A haunted whisper drifted beneath the crack of the old oak door that caged in his bedchamber, and the light that passed beneath it nearly as foreign as the voice on the other side. Jem, had been there for days or so it felt, wrapped in his ribbon of glass and holding onto his sanity much the same. He was afraid to move, afraid to speak, and afraid to open his eyes in fear the fever would get the better of him. He'd confessed to a headache during lunch, politely refusing his tray when it was brought to him, and remaining captive to the massive bed that felt more like a prison. The many layers of covers like the surface of the ocean, while his body lay beneath the sea, but even here he could not breathe.

Winter break had been kind, kinder than he had ever imagined, and Jem would never forget the affection that had been bestowed upon him. He wanted of nothing, and only had to reach out his hand to find the steady helpful fingers of his Professor, or those that held the beautiful man together. Jean-Luc's staff was amazing, a multi-cultural array of different backgrounds and different diversities, and Jem quietly wondered if Jean-Luc himself had gone to every country in the world to hand pick each one. The little silver haired student spent time getting to know each and every one, and memorized every detail. He knew their name, the name of their family—their children—their pets, and asked about them often. Jem became one of them, though he was a guest in this fairy tale world, he felt more like family and was treated just the same. Laughter, musical and captivating lit up the estate in ways that nearly had been forgotten, and Jem mastered the art of bringing life to this beautiful palace that at first seemed a tomb.

The estate itself reminded him of something he only knew it movies or books in leather bindings, full of hidden rooms and secret passages; the sort that led to private chambers and even darker shadows. There was an underground connection to the city, for when enemies invaded but it they were mostly closed off—or so he was told. The windows stretched from floor to ceiling like fortresses of glass, and filled the rooms with light unlike anything he had ever seen. When the sun set each night on the dreary winter horizon it warmed the gold in the carpets until their woven designs became like little rays of warmth beneath his bare feet.

He loved it here.

However, when the fevers came that all faded away, and now huddled beneath the blankets all he could do was dream of dancing again.

"I'm really getting worried about him," The voice came again this time much closer, and when he felt the warm, kind, hands he knew to whom they belonged.

Jem did not need to part his eyes to know who would be there when he woke, nor did he even need to speak his name, but he forced himself to regain his grasp on reality and carefully chose his words.

"It is just a headache," He lied closing his fingers around the Professor's hand, and squeezing gently. Jem didn't wish to look at him, he couldn't bare to witness the concern that deepened the lines around the older man's eyes, nor see the way his skin grew pale at the thought of his health failing, "I am actually feeling much better now."

Jem felt the bed beside him shift to support the older man's weight, and when he turned his wrist over Jean-Luc pressed two fingers to feel his pulse. Color filled the young student's cheeks, and when the Professor asked him to sit up he dare not refuse.

Mim, the old housekeeper, fluffed his pillows—a task he would never get used to but secretly enjoyed. It made it easier for him to see that the world had gone on without him, and now the hour well within the evening Jem was embarrassed to admit that he'd slept this entire time.

"You really don't need to do this, I really am fine." His thin mouth curved into a frown as he watched the Professor pull out the stethoscope from his medical bag and place it around his neck only to order him to lean forward. At the first sign of his next protest Mim spoke up to silence him, and Jem was quick to listen.

"Just let him take a look ok? He won't enjoy the party if he doesn't." Her voice was on the borderline of a severe serious tone and a deep concern, but her kind old eyes gave proof that she was just trying to comfort him. She mothered him, far more than even she realized. However, Jem turned a puzzled look to Jean-Luc, and it was then he noticed that the normally handsome man was made up like a King.

From the high collar to the gold detailed lapels, everything about the other man's suit made him look like some sort of Duke or Stately Lord, and Jem's heart sank. The King's Ball...was it Christmas Eve already? It couldn't be...it just couldn't! A pale little hand came to touch his face as he realized his mistake and he felt a wave of dizziness wash over him, and all the while his eyes threatened tears he could not explain.

"Oh, Jean-Luc, I forgot..." He said with a breathless gasp as he touched his forehead, shoulders trembling, and let his face fall forward until his strands of spider silk hair fell over his brow in an attempt to mask his shame. "I'm so embarrassed," Jem's confession came with his apologetic plea that was quickly put aside by kind warm words.

"James, it's fine. You can not help when headaches plague you," Jean-Luc's voice sounded as much as a lie as his own, but when he helped the boy back he turned to Mim with much conviction.

"I will not have him bothered, I want the entire wing sealed off, and Jem to be given free reign of it all. Alert the staff that I will not have a single soul step up those stairs to this side of the estate while I am gone. They are not to bother him, and only come if that bell is ringing." He didn't need to motion to the string that would call the boy's caretakers as it was there like every other weight of Jean-Luc's wealth and financial stability—like puppets there were men attached to those strings, and when those bells turned over one by one—every demand was fulfilled.

"I would like for our guest to have a good nights rest, and to be left alone to do just that." Mim didn't need to say anything, but she did smile at the both of them as she moved to follow the Professor's command. The air was cold from the hall, and Jem shivered as the draft hit him. However, when he returned his attention to the decadent man at his side, Jem inhaled sharply and the pointed glare—the anger and passionate fires that lapped at the dark man's coal black eyes until they were nothing but burning embers.

Jean-Luc could say nothing and would not dare betray the truth of what he felt, instead he followed in the wake of the woman leaving behind his own desperation and despair. Jem worried he had figured out the truth, and though it was the most likely explanation for obvious struggle between Jean-Luc's emotions, Jem worried the Professor was angry he'd been too sick to accompany him to the party.

With a heavy sigh and a hand to his forehead to help quell the pain, Jem worked up the strength to find his way into his bathroom to attempt getting cleaned up. He would feel better after a long bath, and would worry over ways to please that man once more. Jem couldn't stand being the subject of his wrath.

Short I know. Pardon the mistakes. Review please! I'd love to know if you are still with me. Plus it pushes me for the next chapter which has TWO lemons. One good...one heartbreaking. Poor Will, I feel so sad for you.

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