A/N: Enjoy.
Frankie skimmed through some of the papers as she sat drinking a glass of water. She stared out at the open bay doors, the warm summer breeze hit her face and she smiled bringing her knees up to her chest and leaning her folded arms on them.
Andrew cracked open an eyelid each as painful as the other. His head was spinning and throbbing at the same time, every slight sound, sounded like nails on a chalkboard. He visited the bathroom briefly before going out into the kitchen.
"Tell me we have some painkillers?"
"Well good morning Sailor!" He paused and looked at her over his shoulder, "dear lord above what did I say?"
"You were singing about being a sailor ain't a sailor anymore or something." She laughed. He took the painkillers and joined her at the table with a coffee. "You told everyone Daniel was a good man and he apparently enjoyed having his foot up your…" he interrupted her. "Don't!"
"How did we get back? I don't remember?"
"Ah watching you paid off, you got us halfway before you fell asleep, I did the rest. Brave huh?"
"Very, I'm impressed, next thing is to get you in the water." He said standing up and looking out at the lake. "Come on." He offered her his hand.
"Not a chance!" She said, "I'm not going near, I'll watch you."
"Come on, the water will refresh us both." He gently took her hand and lead her outside, all the way down to the dock, he threw himself off the end of the pier and made a large splash as he went in. Once he surfaced he shook his head and laughed, "waters perfect."
She sat on the end of the pier her feet dangling in the water. She only had her bra and panties on and a see through almost flimsy dressing gown. "That's great, enjoy it!" He swam over to her, his hands on her legs. " take that off and get in here." He laughed. She shook her head, she was terrified of the water.
"Hey, look at me." He grabbed her hands gently. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you okay?" He softly treaded the water. She shook her head. "I can't I'm too scared."
He undid her dressing gown and pushed it off her shoulders. It fell neatly around her and she shyly covered her body as if he hadn't seen it all before. "Nobody's here, it's just you and me." He said, holding her hips. "Just slide off into my arms, I promise I won't let you go."
"Andrew." She shakily said. Her hands still folded across her body. He took them down and into his, "come here." He said and she leant down, he started kissing her softly, her lips against his she replied with as much passion as him.
Slowly between them both she slid off the decking and her body fully submerged into the water, she carried on kissing him and he her, he wrapped her in his arms and held her to him protectively. Breaking away for air he smiled as they bobbed in the water. "See? Nothing to be afraid of, I'm here." She slowly kicked her legs to support herself in the water, he lifted her head "eyes on me." He slowly pulled back from her, allowing her to freely float as he held her hands. "You're doing great!" He smiled, "well done!"
She was still terrified and he could see that, "you just need to get used to being in the water, freely allowing yourself to let go and take charge if you need to." He began to teach her all the basics of swimming, the different ways to swim and how to do it, slowly she gained more confidence until she was able to move about without holding onto him. He started to play with her, splashing her with water at first till she was comfortable.
She had never been so scared in her life, she'd never have done it with anyone but him. For a moment she felt free, light as a feather she paddled and smiled at him as he did tricks. Watching him as he dove under water then back up again, never knowing that a vine was slowly creeping its way around her ankle, catching her as it drifted away caught on a rock that was tumbling down a hill. "Watch this." He said laughing, he went under, put his feet out the water for a few seconds then turned back up. He laughed a moment, looking around for Frankie, he did a full 360 knowing she wouldn't have gone far. "Frankie!" He shouted repeatedly.
Frankie got suddenly pulled under the water her foot wrapped in a vine that pulled her away from Andrew. She held her breath as she kicked her feet hard, trying to break free from the grasp of the vine. She reached down trying to get the vine off her foot but it wouldn't come loose and she was running out of air. Thankfully she practiced holding her breath under water in the bath and that was the only thing keeping her from drowning right now.
"Frankie?!" He shouted one more time before diving under the water, for a few moments there was no sign of her. Thankfully he spotted her, she seemed to be struggling, he swam over and touched her shoulder to let her know he was there. She pointed at her foot and he saw what was holding her, he could also see she was running out of air. He signalled that he was going up and she panicked, thinking he was leaving her. This caused her to loose a bit of air which started a chain reaction. Andrew surfaced and took as much air into his lungs as his body could allow him.
Diving back to Frankie he saw her struggling, he grabbed her face and kissed her passing as much oxygen as he could whilst leaving himself some. He went down to her ankle seeing the bond he tried to tear it but it wouldn't come free, time was running out and he had to think.
Looking around he found a jagged rock, picking it up he used it to slice through the vine, finally breaking Frankie free, he swam up, grabbing her as she was just about to go lifeless, he thrust her up ahead of him and pushed her until they both surfaced gasping for air. Frankie started panicking splashing around not sure what to do, Andrew came straight to her and wrapped her in his arms. "Frankie!" He said trying to control her. "Frankie stop it's ok!"
"Swim with me." He said grabbing her arm and helping her to swim with him, they reached the pier and he helped her out, he got out collapsing on the deck. She sobbed out of fear and frustration, he thought she was trying to do what he did and got completely the wrong end of the stick.
"For heavens sake Frankie what the hell were you doing?!" He sat shouting at her.
"What the heck?!" She asked dumbfounded. "I suppose I went looking for that… whatever it was to wrap around my foot!"
"Don't you realise you could have died!" He shouted when he didn't mean to.
"Are you even listening to yourself right now?!"
"Look I told you to wait there, you must have moved!"
"I stayed there!" She shouted back, both now standing. "I didn't want to get in the damn water in the first place!"
"How the hell are you ever going to learn to swim when you can't follow simple instructions!" He grabbed her and shook her arms, she stared at him in disbelief and forcefully pulled herself from his grasp before storming back up the pier to the house. He let out a frustrated sigh and put his hands on his knees taking deep breaths. He regretted everything the moment it came out of his mouth, the grip on her arms his look of disapproval. She was never going to get back in the water again that was for sure, he'd just terrified the hell out of her. Sitting down in the deck chair in the pier he thought it best he stay out there and let them both cool off before approaching her.
But the longer he thought about it the more it bothered him, he knew what had happened wasn't her fault, he was so scared she was going to die he lashed out at her. Once his breathing returned to normal he stood and walked up to the cabin, coming inside he heard the shower running and he stepped gingerly into the bathroom. "Frankie?" He called softly. She didn't respond but there were sounds of tears and he knew he'd really done it this time. He came into the shower and pulled back the curtain to see Frankie sat with her knees against her chest completely naked and sobbing, to know he'd done this to her hurt him so badly.
"Oh my love." He said kneeling down, they wrapped their arms around each other. "I'm sorry." He whispered.
"No I'm sorry, it was all my fault, I'm useless." She cried, he shook his head. "You're definitely not useless." He said, "I didn't think of the dangers that was my fault." She rested her head on his shoulder and he held her. He could see the marks in her arms where he'd grabbed her and the well of pain hit him harder. He grabbed a pair of scissors off the side and took her foot, cutting the remaining vine from it, tossing it aside. Pulling her to her feet he grabbed the soap and poured a bit into his hands rubbing it to form a lather, slowly he started moving it over her body, careful with every movement, she watched him and felt a pang of guilt for her anger towards him.
She grabbed the soap as well as he got naked and they both began showering each other…
A little while later he shut the shower off and picked her up in his arms, taking her out of the room he went to their bed and laid her down, laying next to her she turned in his arms and he stroked her cheek softly. "Forgive me?" He asked.
"Only if you forgive me." She kissed his forehead. He wrapped her in his arms. "I thought I was going to loose you…" a tear fell from his eyes followed by another, she kissed him deeply, tasting his tears, her thumbs caressing his cheeks, "don't cry." He never cried, unless he was really worried or hurt otherwise he was strong.
She ran her fingers through his hair and down his torso, so strong. Her hands found his hips and she pulled him against her, not to make love but to just feel all of him touching her, their naked bodies intertwined, her love sitting warmly against his thigh, his manhood against her stomach, there was something so pure about having a relationship that could have them be horny as hell one moment but so in love the next they could just feel each other and be content.
A few weeks passed since the whole ordeal and they'd long since forgiven each other. Rousing in bed in the very early hours of the morning, after having made love mere hours before Andrew stirred hearing a noise. "Frankie?" He asked reaching over and not finding her there.
"Frankie?" He called a little louder, still nothing. Getting up he noticed it was still dark outside and he pulled a t-shirt on and some boxers. Getting up he could see the bathroom light was off but the noise was coming from there. He walked into their bathroom and found Frankie laying on the floor beside the toilet. She'd clearly been vomiting and he suddenly worried he'd hurt her during their intercourse.
"Frankie?" He asked softly not putting the light on, the moon shone enough through the window. She murmured half asleep and half ill, he sat her up and rested her body against his chest. She had on her panties but nothing else. He reached for a wash cloth cleaning her and everything up, he took off his t-shirt and slipped it on her hoping it would give her some comfort. "Frankie?" He asked before picking her up. She was about to answer when another wave of sickness caught her and answered his question for him. He sat down again next to her holding back her hair and rubbing her back. The wave passed and she slumped down towards the floor she landed in his arms instead. He again cleaned everything up and rested himself back against the bath.
She laid in between his legs, his arms gently resting over her allowing her ample room to puke if she needed to. When she hadn't for a couple of hours he figured it was finally safe to bring her back to bed. It was still dark out thankfully and the sunlight wouldn't hinder her sleep. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her back into the bedroom resting her on the bed, he touched her forehead but she didn't feel hot, maybe clammy but she wasn't burning a fever.
"Frankie?" He asked gently, she moaned in protest. "My love?" He asked again. "Are you okay? What's the matter?"
"I don't feel so good." She simply said.
"Do you want me to take you to the ER?"
"No." She took his hand and held it. "Stay with me." He nodded and brought an empty bowl putting it down beside her, sitting up in the bed with his back against the headboard he pulled her between his legs again, he placed a pillow across his lap and she rested her head on it. He stroked her hair lovingly, watching her struggle, wishing he knew what was wrong.
He closed his eyes and held her hand stroking it softly, brushing her hair out of her face with the other. "Sleep." He said and she did, she fell asleep within seconds, exhausted. Finally morning rolled around and he woke up, seeing she was still softly sleeping between his legs he stretched his back hearing it crack. He slid down the bed about half way and she turned to him slowly opening her eyes. "Are you okay?" He asked worried.
"I think so." She curled up to him and he stroked her back lovingly. "Maybe a bug or something." She said simply, trying not to worry too much. He kissed her softly and turned it into a make out session. He pushed her down on her back and brought her leg up around his waist. She thrust into him suddenly horny as hell. But he knew she was not in her right frame of mind, the last thing he needed was Frankie getting sick again half way through.
He pressed it against her to tease her but he wouldn't let her start something she wasn't capable of finishing. "You should rest." He gently pushed her hips back, she moaned in distaste and he laughed. "It's all yours when you're better I promise." He said kissing her some more. "Are you ready for breakfast?" He stood and found another T-shirt pulling it on and walking out into the kitchen.
Finding her strength again Frankie left the bedroom and joined Andrew, he placed a mug of coffee in front of her at the breakfast bar, "There you go beautiful." He smiled, taking his coffee and going across to the chair at the table. He hadn't even sat down before she got up and ran, covering her mouth.
He sat his coffee down and followed her to the bathroom. She finished throwing up and collapsed to the ground, completely exhausted. Her stomach hurt and thought of food just turned her inside out. He went in and helped her to get cleaned up again. After he finished he bent down to pick her up but she stopped him. "My stomach really hurts." She whispered in pain. "You can't lay here." He said, picking her up under protest. He wasn't used to this, Frankie was so strong through everything, to see her so down just broke his heart.
He laid her on the bed and knelt down in front of her, brushing her hair back behind her ear. "Get some rest." He said softly. She nodded, he kissed her forehead and stood up, leaving the room quietly.
A few hours later he sat reading a book on geology when he heard a thud. Figuring Frankie was up, he waited a few minutes for her to appear. When she didn't he got up and went to the bedroom, he couldn't see clearly as it was getting dark and so he turned the light on, a moment he would never forget gave him cause to stare gobsmacked for a moment.
Frankie had woken up in agony and feeling something wet between her thighs she reached down and saw the blood on her hand. Her heart raced and she started to feel faint, she tried to scream but no voice came out. It was as if everything was silent, the whole world had stopped. She got up and started to walk shakily, unable to feel every step, she reached out for the door knob, missed, hit her head on the dresser and fell to the floor, passing out.
Andrew ran over to Frankie, that's when he saw the blood trail following her body, the bed was saturated and she was too as it seemed the blood was everywhere. He didn't know if she'd been stabbed, hurt herself or what. He turned her over and it was obvious to him immediately what was happening. He reached up and grabbed the phone off the dresser and dialled 911…
Around an hour later Frankie's team slammed through the entrance of the ER and she was pushed through down the hall, Andrew was forced into a waiting area as they took her back, her heart had stopped and she was bleeding out.
Andrew cried for the first time in forever, real full sob, he clasped his hands together and closed his eyes, praying harder than he ever had before. He knew he should have took her to the ER sooner but he went against his judgement, a price he was now paying. "Don't go Frankie, stay with me." He begged over and over.
He sat there for hours and waited, doctors came and went and he started to fall asleep, a rosary he always kept in his jacket pocket slipped through his fingers and dropped to the floor, startling him.
"Andrew?" A female doctor said walking in. "Miss Paige's fiancé right?" She asked. "How is she?" He stood immediately.
"She's ok." The doctor said and put her handout to stop him from running out there. "Mister Kiernan I'm afraid to tell you your fiancé had a miscarriage."
"What?" He asked incredulously, "but she wasn't pregnant? I mean I didn't know she…what?" He asked again.
"She wasn't far along, 7 weeks." She said sadly. Andrew was hearing it but it wasn't processing. "She's also got a nasty gash on her head?" The doctor queried, "I think she hit her head when she fell." He tried, she nodded and continued, "she lost a lot of blood, we lost her but she came back, she's obviously got something or someone she's fighting for." She smiled touching his arm. He just nodded. "Come on I'll take you to see her. She's awake and she knows." He followed the doctor until they came to outside the room. The doctor just smiled and gently put her hand on his arm. "It'll be ok." She said and walked off.
Andrew stood there trying to process how this was going to happen, he was going to go in there and be brave for her, he was a man he was strong. A tear slipped from his eyes and he wiped it away taking a deep breath he pushed open the door, there she was, his girl hooked up to machines that were slowly bleeping. She was facing the window on her side, her arms wrapped around her body.
He didn't know what to say, he'd just lost his child as much as she and he didn't understand how he should feel. He closed the door and walked over, walking around to the bed a chair was already there waiting. He sat down and looked at her, she didn't look at him, too ashamed.
He held out his hand scared to touch her. He gently touched her arm, she was cold to touch, she didn't react but a tear fell from her eyes. He leaned forward and she pulled back, he stopped and sat back his heart hurting. He put his head in his hands rubbing his face he took a deep breath, he rested his hand on his chin and stared at her. It seemed neither of them could find the words to say anything, he didn't know what else he could do but he wasn't going to give up.. where this was going he was going with her and he'd be there when she was ready and maybe somewhere along the way he'd find some healing for himself.
"I love you." He whispered.
Frankie never replied she just stared out the window, feeling like a shit human being, she hated herself and her body for this happening, it was all her fault…
Outside a blue balloon drifted past the window, hanging there for a second before it drifted up to the sky…