Law's Guilt
Law brushed a strand of hair away from Neo's face. It was early, about five thirty in the morning. He was on the verge of waking her up. Part of him really didn't want to wake her up since she was so worn out from yesterday's exercises. The healer had finally said it was okay for her to start working on building her strength up. Neo was started off slow. She only did some leg lifts and pushed her feet against his hands.
But he really needed to discuss something important with her. He couldn't do that if the healer and Selene were in and out of the room all day long. His crew he could easily order out, but not those women. And that talk was about what Penguin had said to him before. The man's words keep running over and over again in his mind. He couldn't say how right Penguin was. This was Neo's only chance to learn about who she really is. It would help her in a lot of ways. And he was keeping her from that. She wouldn't do it without him telling her that she needed to.
Five more minutes past by before Law was able to bring himself to wake her up. "Neo?" He stroked her hair, causing her to shift under his touch. "Neo, wake up for me now."
"Hm?" Neo opened her eyes. She looked up at him with a slow blink. Incoherently, she mumbled, "Law? I don't get up yet. I'm still sleepy now. Tired."
"I'm sorry. I know you're use to waking up on your own and not getting up so early," Law said. He slipped his hand down to her back and rubbed it as an apology for disturbing her. She tensed and shifted under his touch, closing her eyes. "But I wanted you to have a shower so we can talk before anyone comes in."
"Oh. Okay." Neo sat up, rubbing her eye.
Law kept his hand on her. As she moved, his hand slid over her body and came to rest on her hip. Getting off the bed, he slipped his arms around her. When he lifted her off the bed, she nuzzled her nose against his neck. He couldn't help but chuckle. His heart raced at the sleep-induced affection she was giving him. He carried her over to the bathroom.
While he closed the door with his foot, he realized how grateful he was for this shower. With the IV devices on her skin she didn't need to soak in a bath. The shower had a small bench in it so her weakened legs wouldn't be a problem at this point. And the shower head was connected to a long crystal tube for easy movability.
Law sat her down on the crystal bench. He unzipped her gown, pulling it down off her right arm first so he would have more room to slip it over her left hand. "Put your arms around my neck."
Like always Neo did as she was told without question. She wrapped her arms around his neck. Being as careful as he could be he lifted her up then pulled the gown out from under her. He tossed it away from them and slipped her undergarment off her before sitting her back down. He then grabbed the shower head. Pointing it away from her, he turned on the water. When he got it to the right temperature, he proceeded to wet her body down. His heart leaped when she smiled and closed her eyes in enjoyment of the hot water running over her tired body. Law chuckled again. "You haven't had a shower in quiet a while. I bet it feels good."
"It does," Neo admitted. "I've really missed being in the water."
"Once you get your strength back you can go swimming." Law reached for the shampoo. Popping open the lid the smell of morning glories filled the room. He was ready for the scent since he had taken showers in here before. Squirting a good amount in his palm he worked the silky foam into her hair. It was clear she loved the smell of it as she took in a deep breath and her smile brightened. It made him wonder if the elementals had added something in it to make them feel good. Despite that he could tell that she was glad he was helping her. Their bond reflected her tiredness into his body. He was glad it didn't affect him much. But he would gladly take it all away from her if he could.
It took him twenty minutes to get her shower completed, mostly because of her hair. He had no idea how much she really had until he rinsed out the suds. But also because he didn't want to rough her up as he washed her off. Now she was growing more and more tired.
Turning off the water, he reached over to the towel rack and grabbed a towel. He wiped down her skin before wrapping a fresh, dry towel around her body. He pulled her back into his arms and left the bathroom. He placed her back on the bed before digging through the bag of clothes he had ordered Bepo to bring shortly after Neo had finally woken up. He had thought of asking Penguin to get them but knew Bepo was the better choice. While Penguin would never do anything to disgrace Neo, Law still knew Penguin's head would go in the gutter if he went through Neo's underwear.
Neo was drying her hair with her wind and fire crystals when he stood back up. He was grateful she had the ability to do that. She would never have to go to bed or spend minutes to hours in cold weather with wet hair. He helped her into her undergarments before walking over to the small closet where the ward gowns were kept.
Once he had her gown on her, he grabbed her hairbrush. Sitting behind her, he brushed out her hair with slow smooth strokes. While sitting there, his mind drifted back to Penguin's words. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't get himself to find the right words to start this conversation.
"Law, is something wrong?"
Law jumped from his thoughts. She was glancing back at him from over her shoulder. His eyes locked onto her hair as he continued to brush it. "No, nothing's wrong. Why do you asked?"
"Well, my hair is fine, but you keep brushing it."
Law paused.
"And there's something coming from you. I'm not sure what it is, but I don't like it. You also said that you wanted to talk to me, but you haven't said anything since I've been up."
"I'm sorry. It's just…" Law lowered the brush from her hair. Penguin's words found him once more. This shouldn't be this difficult. Still he had to be careful with his words. He didn't want her to misunderstand him or get upset with him. With a deep sigh, he placed the hairbrush on the bed, kicked off his shoes then, shifting to the center of the bed, he crossed his legs while facing her. "Turn around here and look at me."
Neo moved herself farther onto the bed. She mimicked Law's position and placed her hands in her lap.
Law reached out and took her hands in his. He brushed his left thumb over her right hand while brushing his right thumb just over her left fingers. His eyes locked onto the device on top of her hand and the one on the bottom of her hand. Then he looked at her skin. The discoloration was just about gone. Soon she shouldn't have to wear them anymore. Pulling his eyes from the device, he looked at her. "Neo, I need to apologize to you."
"What for?" Neo tilted her head.
"I haven't been doing you any favors by being so protective of you," Law admitted.
"But I like how protective you are of me. You make me feel safe," Neo said.
"I know." Law lifted her right hand up to his lips. He placed a gentle kiss on her hand, her skin was still warm from her shower. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips when the beeping of the heart monitor increased. "And I'll always protect you to the best of my ability. But, here lately, I've been too protective of you. So much so that I've build an entire fortress around you."
"What do you mean? I don't understand." Neo's eyebrows kneaded to back that statement up.
"I've been building up walls around you because I…because I feel guilty that you got hurt." He dropped his eyes from hers. He couldn't hold his gaze on her anymore. Her eyes were far too trusting of him and so innocent.
"Guilty?"
"I feel like it's my fault that I couldn't protect you when the elementals attacked us." Law gritted his teeth. He wanted to look back up at her, but couldn't bring himself to do it. "I'm so sorry, Neo."
"You're going to make me use my wings and interact with the elementals," Neo whispered.
Law looked up. She had summoned her wings. He watched as she unfolded them as far as they could go before folding them back down against her back. He nodded. He tightened his hold on her right hand as if she would disappear if he let go, guilt hammering into his very soul. "I am."
"Okay."
"Huh?" Law jerked his eyes up to hers. Confusion and shock swirled in his brain. That wasn't something he expected her to easily agree to. Sure he had easy control over her, but he still expected her to resist a little bit.
"Law, I don't blame you for what happened. I know it's not your fault," Neo said.
Law carefully took her in. She looked as calm as ever. No fear in her eyes. No signs of tears. There was only her typical trust of him. She knew he would never do anything to intentionally hurt her. He swallowed.
"It's not their fault either, the elementals. I know you would have protected me if you could have. But they're just stronger because they have control over nature, right? And they were under the control of the darkness crystal then. If I understand correctly how that works, then it's just something that happens. It's something that's just part of their lives. And pain is also part of life, right?" Neo said.
"It is." Law nodded.
"Law, I understand that during certain times I'm going to get hurt. But I no longer get hurt because I'm different. You and the crew stopped that. You also stopped me from hurting myself. I'm still nervous about all of this, but I know I can get through this as long as the crew and you are by my side. And you are by my side, right? You're not going to leave me because we're here at this place now, right?" Neo said.
"I am by your side, Neo. And I'm never ever going to leave you. Your home is the sub, with the crew and with me. I am, however, going to back off a little bit and let you get to know the elementals better. If I'm not so on guard around you it should help smooth things over with them. Maybe they'll understand how much you need to be with me to survive and become more accepting of you leaving Luminous." Law released her left hand. He ran his fingers through her hair. With his hand behind her head, he pulled her close to him and pressed their foreheads together. He smiled when the beeping in the room increased a bit more than before. "I will be right by your side while you learn about this place. I am always going to be by your side. Understand?"
"Y-yes," Neo said. Her chest tightened up and her breathing became harder. Her eyes ran rapidly over Law's features as much as she could with how close they were. She swallowed before speaking again. "L-Law?"
"Yes?"
"Why…why do you make me feel so-"
"What the heck is going on?! What's wrong with the princess?!" The healer's panicked voice boomed into the room at the same time the door flew opened and hit the wall with a loud bang.
Both Neo and Law jumped at the sudden loud noise. Law then growled at the interruption. He glared while Neo looked curiously and cautiously at the panicked woman. Her hair was sticking out all over the place. Her green shirt was half tucked into her jeans and her white lab coat was only hanging on her left arm. It was obvious she wasn't quite ready to face the day yet.
The healer paused. She blinked in confusion at the two pirates calmly sitting on the bed staring back at her. "What the…the princess's heart rate spiked twice! I thought something was wrong! She looks just fine! What the heck did you do to her?!"
"I didn't do anything." Law frowned. "But you interrupted a very important conversation and moment we were having. She was about to ask me about her…"
"Ask what?" the healer questioned when Law's voice trailed off.
"It doesn't matter now," Law grumbled.
"Fine." The healer huffed. She started to fix her disheveled look to make herself more presentable. "Well, as long as you're awake now, Princess, we might as well get you into the shower. I think you're strong enough to handle one."
"She's all ready had one," Law said with a devilish smirk.
Healer Zinnia paused again. Her eyes drew over to the bathroom. The door was still open and Neo's previous gown was lying crumpled on the floor where Law had tossed it. Her face went completely white. Her jaw dropped opened. For several seconds, all she could do was stand there and stare. With trembling jerks, she shot her eyes back over to the pirates. She raised her hand and pointed a finger accusingly at Law. "Y-y-you! Cad! You horrible! Despicable! Pirate! H-h-how d-dare you give the princess a shower! That's just…I can't even…I think I'm gonna…uh…"
Healer Zinnia's eyes rolled in the back of her head. Her body went limp as she crashed to the floor in an unconscious heap.
"Captain! Neo! We brought you breakfast! And we're going to eat with you today!" Shachi's voice cried happily. Two seconds later, the man appeared in the door way with the rest of the crew behind him. They all paused and looked at the woman on the floor.
"She fell asleep?" Neo asked.
Law bit his lip in a desperate attempt to keep himself from laughing at Neo's innocence. At the current moment Neo wouldn't understand why exactly the healer fell asleep.
"What happened to her?" Conner questioned as the rest of the crew gathered behind him to peek into the room.
Archer knelt down to check and see if the woman was breathing or not. "Well, she's still alive." He pulled a marker from his pocket. "Can I draw a mustache on her face?"
"Don't be mean," Neo said.
"Yes, ma'am." Archer put the marker away.
"Did something happen, Captain?" Shachi asked eyeing the healer.
"It's nothing," Law replied casually with a smirk. A familiar sadistic spark was glinting in their captain's eyes. "She just received a bit of a cultural shock."
The rest of the crew skirted around the unconscious woman as they entered into the room with their breakfast in hand. Law could tell they weren't sure if they wanted to know what really happened or not.
Penguin and Bepo sat the extra trays they were carrying down on the table for Neo and Law.
Neo tugged on Law's sleeve. She asked, "Captain, why didn't she want you to give me a shower? Is there something wrong with you helping me? You've helped me before with bathing and getting dressed."
Neo's curiosity and innocence gave the crew the answer anyway. The crew about choked on their food. One of them was taking a drink of his milk and shot it out of his nose when she asked that question. Jean Bart had to pound his chest to make the food go down.
Oblivious to the crew's reactions, Neo kept her innocent eyes on Law and waited for his answer.
Law felt his cheeks grow warm at the same time he felt every single one of his subordinates turning their eyes to him. None of them ever thought about Neo not understanding why it would be improper, most of the time, for a man to give a woman a shower. None of them had ever addressed something like that since their captain was a doctor. It was normal for doctors to look at people naked.
Law took a deep breath before answering her. "No, Neo, there's absolutely nothing wrong with me helping you. I'm your doctor after all. I'm always here to help you when you need me. Eat your breakfast now."
"Okay." Neo nodded with a smile. She shifted back on the bed while summoning a crystal to lift the head of it. Once set Penguin placed her tray on her lap. "Thank you."
Law felt a huge wave of relief wash over him when she accepted the answer he gave her. His mind ran over this current situation a couple of times while he started eating. Showering and nudity was something else he had strict control over on the sub. Neo bathed in his private bathroom and he has helped her a few times when she was hurt and when she didn't know how to put on a bra. And the crew was never allowed to run around in the nude.
Without much thought on the subject, they had just fallen into a routine with her. It was natural for Neo. With the exception of himself, none of the crew has ever seen her naked while she's never seen them naked, not even him. He never thought about the possibility of her not knowing the physical difference between a man and a woman. And he should have with how her past was. That was something else she was uneducated about. And that was something he was going to have to correct. Soon.
…
Neo walked with small, quiet steps around the room with Law by her side. A couple days had passed since the shower issue. No one had brought it up since. Now she was finally strong enough to stand on her own two feet so something like that would never happen again. Though she was still grateful that Law stayed just outside the open door of the bathroom when she showered.
With nothing else to look at, she let her eyes roam over the flowers and gifts. More had been brought to her room, but were quickly sent to the palace on Healer Zinnia's orders. Some of the older flowers had been removed and replaced with newer ones. This refreshed the room with more flower scents, but within a couple of hours, Neo didn't notice them anymore.
Neo pulled her eyes from the flowers and looked over at the two elementals in the room. Healer Zinnia was sitting at her desk. The healer had a variety of flowers and tools scattered about the desk that she didn't recognize. The woman was mixing together ingredients for something while watching her walk around the room. Selene was also in the room. The younger elemental was leaning against the wall by the door. She was also watching Neo walking around the room, but she didn't feel the woman's eyes on her.
A strange feeling built up in Neo's chest when she realized that Selene was looking at Law. Her eyebrows and lips tugged down on her skin when she realized that. She didn't get to think much on the hot feeling bubbling up in her chest when Law had tapped her shoulder. She turned her eyes to him. He asked, "Would you like to try your wings?"
"Uh." Neo's eyebrows turned up then. She glanced over at the healer unsure if the woman was going to argue with Law or not.
"If you're feeling fine, I don't see why not," Healer Zinnia said. She pushed her glasses up higher on her nose. Her eyebrows narrowed into a glare when Law looked at her. Still upset over him giving Neo a shower, the healer automatically glared at him when she saw him. Law would just return the look with a smirk. As far as he could tell, the healer never mentioned what he had done to anyone else. "Your heart beat is staying right where it should be. So go ahead if you want to, Princess."
"I guess I can try," Neo replied. She looked back at Law. He nodded in response. She then looked over her shoulder and summoned her wings, giving them a few flaps. Returning her eyes to Law, she held out her hands to him. She knew he would understand her meaning. And like in her crystal training, he held her hands for comfort. Or he held her left hand the best he could with the device still on it. She was more than ready to have it and the one on her chest removed.
Neo began to move her wings. She tested them with a few flicks and flutters before speeding up the movement. They all waited patiently for her to increase her wing speed. After a minute of flapping, Neo's feet rose off the floor. The beeping from the heart monitor rose as well.
"You're doing fine, Neo," Law said giving her right hand a comforting squeeze.
Neo turned to Healer Zinnia who was watching them carefully. She watched as the healer sent another glare at the pirate captain's back before turning her eyes back to her work. She looked back at Law in time to see him smirking back at the healer. Then Selene caught her eye again. The younger woman was still staring at Law, her eyes roaming over his body with a lick of her lips. Heat flared up in Neo's chest. Before she could do anything Law's voice pulled her back to him.
"How are you feeling?" Law asked.
Neo wondered if he had sensed that strange feeling in her chest. If he did, he didn't mention it. "Okay. It's a bit different from using my wind crystals to fly, but I think I'm going to be okay with them."
"You'll get use to them the more you use them, Princess," Healer Zinnia said. She twisted the cap on the green jar she was holding. Picking up a second blue jar, she stood up and walked over to the two pirates. "That'll be enough for today. I don't want you to over do it. Here, I have something for you."
Neo fluttered her wings until her feet touched the cool ward floor. She folded her wings against her back and looked at the two jars the healer was holding. She asked, "What are those?"
"A couple of healing creams. The green jar is for your wings. Like I said before, if you go prolonged periods of times without using them, your back will hurt. This cream will help with that. When that happens just rub this on your back where your wings meet your skin. I get the feeling that you might get into situations where you won't be using your wings a lot of the time." Healer Zinnia shot Law another glare. "I know you pirates can get into sticky situations. And most humans don't know we exist. With how protective your captain and crew are of you, I'm sure you'll avoid using them quiet a bit. The blue jar is for the cuts you have on your body."
Neo flinched. The healer meant her suicide attempts. She stepped closer to Law and leaned against his arm. Vulnerability flowed through her. She could feel Law's glare at the healer radiating off of him.
Healer Zinnia returned the glare with one of her own before speaking again. She said, "I know those bother you to a point. This cream will help fade them from the eye. Eventually, they'll fade away completely or the majority will. A couple of the more deep cuts might remain slightly visible. Also, Mister Trafalgar…"
Law eyebrows rose in slight curiosity when she addressed him with a stiff, forced tone.
Healer Zinnia held out a small stack of papers to him. "Since you are so insistent on taking our precious princess with you."
"Huh?" Law took the papers.
Neo peeked over at them. It appeared to be a schedule of some sort with a list of books to start reading. She looked up to find Law giving the healer a confused look.
"Oh, don't give me that look. I know you were going to do it anyway once you gotten your hands on our medical books. You've already read one that I'm aware of. So I all ready had several medical books moved into the castle library. You can start reading them whenever you feel like it. However, reading books can only take you so far, so I will be helping you at certain points in time as well. You will be accompanying me around the ward when I visit patients. Of course it'll be when the princess feels comfortable enough for you to leave her side. You'll only be here for an hour to start with. That time will increase when the princess is comfortable with it. I've also appointed other willing healers to assist you in your book studying at the castle," Healer Zinnia said. She then gave Law a pointed look. "I am going to be leaving our princess in your hands. You maybe a doctor, but you know nothing of elemental biology, sicknesses, and medications. And I expect you to learn everything you can about that while you're here. The princess will be permitted to sit in with you during your sessions because she'll need to learn about the flowers and herbs we use to make our medications. Since she's never trained as a healer, you're going to be the one mixing up the proportions. I hope you find this acceptable, Princess."
"You're giving the captain permission to take care of me?" Neo blinked.
Law scoffed at the idea of being given permission to take care of her. He was going to do it anyway. He has been doing that for over a year. He certainly didn't need this woman's permission to take care of the one he loved. But it was going to help their situation and he was going to get to study what he needed to take care of Neo so he willingly remained quiet.
"I suppose I am," the healer said with a sigh. "But don't get too excited now. You two still have a long ways to go in getting the rest of Luminous to accept that you're not going to be living here."
"But this is good, right?" Neo asked. She looked up at Law. He nodded in answer. She smiled and hugged him. "Captain! I'm so glad!"
Law chuckled as he wrapped his left arm around her and stroked her hair with his right hand while Neo snuggled into his chest. He looked up when he felt the healer's gaze zooming in on them. He was going to glare at her again, but didn't when he noticed a small look of questioning appeared on the woman's face. He saw that she was starting to see how deep his relationship with Neo really was. Law asked, "Is there something wrong, healer woman?"
"No, everything is just fine. Let me check your hand, Princess." The healer shook her head.
Neo held out her hand to the woman.
The healer placed her fingers under the plate on Neo's hand. She shifted her glasses while looking at Neo's skin. The discoloration was completely gone. She summoned a crystal and beamed its glow down on Neo's hand. She smiled and nodded in acceptance when her inspection concluded the poison was completely gone. "Perfect. The antidote has done its job. These things can be removed right now. Go ahead and sit back down on the bed."
Healer Zinnia walked away from the two.
Neo looked up at Law before he leaned down and scooped her up into his arms. He walked her over to then sat her down on the bed before sitting beside her on her right side.
Selene walked over at that point. With a smile pointed right at Law, she said, "You did very well with your first flight using your wings, Princess. I'm glad you're finally getting better. You'll be able to leave this ward soon. I'm also sad. I won't be able to see you as often, Mister Trafalgar. I'm fairly busy with my duties in helping Madam, but I'll be able to come visit you two occasionally while you're staying in the castle."
Neo blinked a couple times at the woman then she pulled her eyes to Law. Law didn't seem to notice Selene was talking to him. His eyes remained on her. She looked back at the woman. That odd hot feeling came back to her chest causing her to frown.
Selene then said, "I know! Since the princess is obviously feeling better, how about we have dinner together tonight? You're probably tired of being cooped up in this room all the time."
"No!" Neo shouted and grabbed onto Law's arm. The heart monitor shrieked in beat with her panicking heart. "The captain stays with me!"
"Of course I'm staying with you. Calm down now. There's no reason here for you to be upset. I'm not leaving you ever." Law pressed his lips to her hair while rubbing his hand over hers. He leaned down to her ear. "I'm still here. Relax now."
Neo nodded. The beeping slowed down.
"All right, Selene, you'll be removing the device on the princess's hand," Healer Zinnia said while walking back over to them. She then grumbled quietly to herself. "I need a new assistant. I'm beginning to think she only wants to become a healer to meet men."
"Oh." Selene frowned, but obediently stepped away from Law. "Yes, ma'am."
"Now, Princess, the removal will be quick, but this is going to sting a little bit," Healer Zinnia said with sympathy. The two women placed their hands over the devices. "Are you ready?"
Neo nodded. She turned her eyes into Law's shoulder just before the two women jerked the devices from her skin. She whimpered at the stinging shooting through her skin.
Law tightened his hold on her hand and pressed his lips into her hair again. He felt a light sting running through his skin as well, but he knew it hurt more for her. Softly, he said, "It's okay, Neo. It's over. You did good."
"Your fingers and wrist are going to be a stiff from not being used for so long. But don't worry. You can easily work that stiffness out in a day or two. I'm sure your captain will gladly help you with that tonight. Here." Healer Zinnia pulled out a small tube of ointment from her pocket and handed it to Law as Selene walked away with the devices in her hands. "This will help with the stinging and will help fade away the dots left behind by the tube's needles. I'm still going to leave the heart monitoring crystals on for a while longer. This is just as a precaution. Once you get more of your strength built back up, I'll remove them too. Get some rest now, Princess. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Th-thank you," Neo said.
Law nodded in acceptance to the healer's words. He took the tube from her. Once the two women were out of the room, he twisted off the tube's cap. Spearmint filled the air when the cap was off. He squirted some of the ointment onto his fingers then rubbed it onto her skin where the little dots were on her chest.
"Law, I'm scared," Neo whispered.
"About what?" Law questioned. He zipped her gown back up then moved on to medicating her hand.
"I'm glad that those things were taken off, but then that means I'm closer to leaving this place. They want us to sleep in different rooms." Neo turned her watering eyes up to him. "I can't. I don't want to sleep without you near me. I don't want to wake up from a nightmare without you there."
"Don't worry, Neo." Law recapped the small tube and pocketed it. He gave her a gentle smile while taking her left hand in his. He slowly worked his skilled fingers over her stiff ones and on the underside of her wrist. "I have no intentions on letting you sleep alone again."
"But you said that you were going to back off from protecting me so much," Neo said with confusion in her eyes and voice.
"True." Law nodded. "But that was from the elementals, not nightmares. Me backing off doesn't mean I can't still sleep with you. We've already spent two nights without sleeping beside each other. I'm not going to let us go through that again. And I'm not going to let you go through that again."
"I don't understand." Neo tilted her head. "How can we sleep together if they won't let us?"
"I'm going to walk you to your room when it's time to go to bed. I'll go to the room they've prepared for me, but only for a little while. Remember you can still sense and talk to me through our bond. I won't be going anywhere. Once everyone in the castle has settled down, I'll warp myself into your room," Law explained. "See? You're not going to be alone. I promise you won't."
"And that's okay?" Neo asked. "They won't get upset?"
"Of course it's okay. They won't even know. Besides, you don't have to do what they want you to do," Law said.
"I don't?" Neo asked.
"No, if they want you to do something that you really don't want to do then you don't have to do it. And I'll be right there to back you up," Law said. He pulled his right hand from her wrist and ran his fingers through her hair. "You're going to move at your speed just like you always have. That's something they're just going to have to accept."
"I just don't want to upset anyone," Neo admitted. "I really don't believe they are bad people."
"I know you don't. But it's more important that they don't upset you," Law said. He reached into his pocket. When he pulled his hand back out, he opened his palm up to show her what he had. It was his ring.
Neo's eyes lit up when she saw it. Her chest grew warm when he lifted her hand up and slipped the warm band back onto her finger.
Law ran his thumb over her finger and ring before lifting her hand to his lips. "Does that make this better?"
"Yes." Neo nodded with a bright smile. "It makes it a lot better."
"Let's work on your wrist and fingers now," Law said. "Try and move them a bit."
Neo tried to wiggle her wrist and fingers but they remained stiff. "It won't move. And it hurts bit."
"That's fine," Law said working her wrist and fingers again. "The pain shouldn't last long."
Neo's eyes locked onto his ring. There were no words to tell him how happy she was to have it back on. Her finger felt so bare without it. Now it was like she was complete. Her eyes lifted up to his. She smiled when her eyes meet his. Never again would his ring leave her finger. She would make sure of that.
