32 Paparazzi (1/2)
Richy is a more cooperative patient than Talia. He eats, drinks plenty of water, sleeps and stays in full guardian mode for a week. After a week in full guardian mode, he turns his guardian off as he climbs out of bed. The only time he's gotten out of bed before this while he was healing was to go to the bathroom. He stretches as he stands slowly and carefully.
”How do you feel, Mist,” asks Wildcat.
”Stiff…,” answers Richy, ”and a little sore… But mostly just stiff.”
”You should do your best to take it easy for at least another week or two,” Cougar tells Richy.
”Where's Talia,” asks Richy.
”I sent her outside for some fresh air,” answers Cougar. ”She's hardly left your side for the past week.”
”I could use some fresh air myself,” says Richy, ”but I think I'll hop in the shower first.”
After his shower, Richy doesn't have to go far to find Talia. She's sitting in a glide rocker with Eli and Windwalker just outside the kitchen holding Will. Fall is fast becoming winter and everyone is dressed appropriately. No one's feet are bare. All feet are moccasin covered. Talia is due to give birth in two months in the middle of winter. She tries to hop to her feet to greet Richy except her belly's too large. Windwalker helps her to her feet. She hands Will to Cougar and hugs Richy tightly.
”I knew you would come for me.” Talia tells Richy. ”But you all came for me, even Windwalker.”
Richy hugs Talia close and tight as he admits, ”I don't remember much after going over the cliff with Fjord. We were in the water. I was having trouble. He had me in his jaws. I couldn't breathe. Then I was in your arms… I can't believe you jumped off that cliff. You could have killed yourself and our baby.”
”I didn't think,” Talia admits softly, ”I just reacted.”
Richy sighs, ”I'm guilty of that one myself. I shouldn't have run out of here by myself without a word to anyone. It was foolish of me. I could have gotten us both killed…” He puts a hand on Talia's massive belly, ”I could have gotten all three of us killed…” He looks over at Windwalker and tells him, ”I don't know how you and Breeze got there so quickly or how you got us back here so quickly, but thank you, thank you both.”
”You're welcome,” Windwalker tells Richy, ”I'm glad to finally not be a thorn in everyone's side.”
”Where is everyone,” asks Richy looking around. ”Where's my grandfather?”
”He's with Animalistic along with Breeze and the others,” answers Wildcat, ”helping them set up for winter.”
”Richy your tribe,” Talia explains, ”Water has splintered. Most are with Animalistic. Some went with Mantis. A few went with Nighteye…”
”And some plan on returning with me and Breeze,” adds Windwalker.
Richy sighs sadly, ”I guess that was inevitable. Fjord was a bad chief. He treated them all badly and finally abandoned them. They're going where they think they'll be safe and treated well. I can't blame them. Any join the Amazons?”
Wildcat nods, ”Yep, a few.”
Richy takes it easy for a few more days, staying home with Talia until his grandfather, Greywolf, Otter and her children, Seal, Bass with his children, along with Breeze, Stinger and their children return from helping Animalistic set up for the winter.
”Roar and Zenith will be coming for a visit in a few days,” Breeze informs Richy and Talia. ”Animalistic has set up camp for the winter very close by. Roar says they haven't used that spot in about a decade. It's just a short walk from here, about a quick sprint race's distance.”
Talia nods and smiles, ”Yes, I know exactly where they're at. It's only about a fifteen minute walk. It was my parents' preferred area for the winter. It put them close to me for the winter and made visiting each other easier. My grandparents and I would spend most every weekend of the winter with them when I was a girl.” Those are obviously good memories for Talia.
”Mist,” Breeze's tone respectful, ”If you don't mind, Windwalker and I would like to have some private time alone with Talia before we head back to our tribe and prepare for winter ourselves.”
Stinger makes a disgusted sound at Breeze's request.
Richy ignores Stinger and tells Breeze and Windwalker, ”No problem, you've both proven you are invaluable assets to this family.”
”Thank you,” Breeze and Windwalker say together smiling. Breeze is nearest to Talia and puts out his hand to her. Talia takes his hand delightedly. Everyone now knows Breeze is one of Talia's consorts so he can now show her affection openly. He kisses her petite fingers held in his large hand as Windwalker joins them and they head upstairs to the master suite.
”Doesn't that bother you,” Stinger asks Richy.
Richy looks at Stinger and admits, ”At first, yes. Yet I understand wanting private time with Talia. I love getting her to myself once in a while, we all do. And they're technically not getting her alone because they're together. Plus, they've proven themselves. As soon as they knew where she was, they went after her just like I did. I'm not angry with Windwalker anymore and I was never angry with Breeze. They can have their private time with Talia when they need or want, individually or together.”
Stinger crosses her arms angrily, ”Well it certainly isn't necessary for him to be so openly affectionate with her, is it? And while we're here, he mates with her every day. He's not that way with me at all.”
”Stinger, you need to let this go,” Wildcat tells her. ”Jealousy is an ugly, dangerous emotion. It will consume and destroy you from the inside out just like hate. As her consort, Breeze is entitled to show her just as much affection as he would show to a mate. Any troubles between the two of you are not caused by Talia.”
”He's so different now,” shares Stinger. ”He's so serious all the time now except when he's here around her.”
”Breeze may not be chief of Air,” Wildcat reminds Stinger, ”but as the chief's brother he has a lot of responsibility. Instead of looking for him to be the man you fell in love with over a decade ago, try accepting him and loving him for the man he is today. Surely you realize you're not the same woman he fell in love with over a decade ago. Would you have let this bother you over a decade ago?”
Stinger shakes her head no and responds thoughtfully, ”I am not the same woman.”
”And when you're around Roar, you and he mate every day, correct,” asks Wildcat.
Stinger nods her head yes in response.
”Yet Breeze nor Zenith are never jealous of you and Roar,” reminds Wildcat.
Stinger wraps herself up to keep away the chill in the autumn air, ”I'm gonna go watch the children play with Otter and Seal.”
Richy, Wildcat, Cougar, Greywolf and Eli watch Stinger walk away. Each man is concerned, but doesn't know what to do to help her. The problem she's having is internal.
Upstairs in the master bath, Breeze and Talia are smiling amused and happy as they watch Windwalker standing in front of the bathroom mirror looking over his shoulder trying to get a good look at his own back.
”Here,” Talia picking up a large hand mirror, ”use this mirror to look into the large mirror, like this…,” Talia demonstrates and hands him the mirror.
Windwalker does as Talia showed him. He gets a big smile on his face as he admires Talia's claw marks on his back. She has accepted him and marked him as her mate. He puts down the hand mirror and pulls Talia into his arms and kisses her. He tells her, ”You make me so happy. I can't wait to show my sister and elder advisor.” Then he kisses her again.
”Can we get a bubble bath now,” ask Breeze smiling amused at his elder brother.
Fresh from the bathtub, Talia, Windwalker and Breeze head downstairs. They find Talia's other mates and consorts in the media room where they left them. Cougar is giving Will his bottle as he plays chess with Richy while the other men watch. Richy is explaining the game to Eli, who's listening intently. Talia pauses to kiss first Greywolf then Wildcat. She kisses Cougar as she relieves him of Will then Richy and finally Eli. She sits and snuggles into Wildcat and kisses Will's forehead.
”What is this game,” asks Windwalker.
”Chess,” answers Richy, ”It's basically a war game.”
”It's too complicated for me,” admits Talia. ”I keep forgetting how each piece moves.”
”Maybe during our next visit,” suggest Windwalker, ”if you have the time, you could teach me how to play.”
Richy glances up and smiles at Windwalker as he agrees, ”Sure.”
”You got to rush off,” asks Wildcat.
”We don't want to,” admits Windwalker, ”But we have winter preparations to ensure take place for our tribe. We usually also give our Night Crawler neighbors a hand with their preparations as well.” He leans over Talia and gives her a long kiss and tells her ”I will see you again soon.”
Talia touches Windwalker's face and tells him sincerely, ”I shall miss you.” Then she kisses him again.
”I smell a wound on you,” Wildcat tells Windwalker.
Talia blushes as Windwalker smiles and informs Wildcat, ”Talia gave me her mark.” Wildcat, Greywolf, Cougar, Richy and Eli all congratulate him and shake his hand.
Breeze leans over, kisses Talia and grinning tells her, ”We'll be back soon.”
Talia returns his grin, ”I know you will.”
Breeze kisses her again. Then he turns to his brother, ”Let's collect Stinger and the children. We need to get moving. We'll see you all soon” Both brothers wave and the others wave back in return.
”I'm going into work tomorrow,” Richy shares, ”I plan on only doing half days for a couple of weeks.”
”That sounds good,” agrees Cougar, ”I think you're ready to go back.”
”I've got reports to read and evidence to review, ”Not to mention, Margie needs to interview me too.”
”The new moon is in a few days,” reminds Talia eager to go to work herself.
”You're not going,” Richy tells Talia, ”You have an office here. You can do all your work from here, digital conference calls, etc.”
”Yes, Richy,” Talia agrees meekly.
Richy and the other men are surprised. They were all expecting an argument out of Talia.
”But what about my adoption of Will,” asks Talia concerned. ”It's not final yet and I need to go into Megalopolis for hearings regarding Sheila's family's suit for custody.”
Richy hears despair in Talia's voice. He looks up and sees tears in Talia's eyes and tells her, ”You can go into Megalopolis with Cougar for your legal appointments concerning Will. But I want at least two of the others to accompany you both. I've talked with Uncle Bob and there are reporters hanging around waiting for you to show up. So avoid your offices. I talked to Margie too this morning. During their search of Grimm's vehicle they discovered he had at least two other identities. So I think it's safe to say that Fjord has other identities as well. He could be anywhere by now, including Megalopolis. I just feel we need to be extra cautious.”
”Yes, Richy,” Talia agrees meekly as tears begin to slide from her eyes.
”What's wrong, Dearest,” asks Wildcat concerned.
”Wrong,” questions Talia.
”Yes, Dearest, what's wrong,” asks Wildcat again. ”You're crying. Why are you crying?”
”I'm crying,” questions Talia touching her face and finding it wet with tears. ”I guess I am crying… But I don't know why.” Talia wipes her face, but the tears keep falling. ”This is silly. I can't seem to stop. I have no reason to cry… Maybe I need a nap.”
”Come on Eli,” Wildcat helping Talia up and knowing Eli has a soothing effect on Talia. ”Let's go have us a lie down.”
”Here, I'll take Will,” Cougar retrieving Will and kissing Talia, ”I love you.”
Talia nods, ”Yes, I know. I know you love me. I know you all love me. I just don't know why. It doesn't make any sense. I'm more trouble than I'm worth.”
Richy kisses Talia, ”That's not true. You're priceless.”
Talia shakes her head and tells him, ”I nearly got you killed.” Then she steps away from Richy. Wildcat and Eli stay with her. Richy, Cougar and Greywolf watch them walk out of the room.
After they're out of the room, Greywolf wonders out loud, ”What did Fjord do to her?”
”I don't know,” says Richy worried for her, ”she hasn't said a word about it to me.”
”I wouldn't expect her to anytime soon,” Cougar tells Richy. ”She talked to Margie because she had to, but she wouldn't give Margie details as to how Fjord treated her. We just know she spent time handcuffed spread eagle to the bed. He used Puddle's wellbeing as a tool to control her. Her left wrist had the most damage, so I think he kept her chained most of the time like a pet.”
”She didn't argue or protest in any way,” says Richy concerned. ”I was expecting her to pitch a fit, tell me I was being over protective or something. I had my reasons all prepared.”
”She's not the same, Richy,” Cougar informs him, ”And don't expect her to ever be the same… That first night she was back we all had a turn with her except you because you were sleeping and healing. We were all so eager to touch her, to smell her and taste her just to reassure ourselves she was home safe and still ours. We didn't care about Fjord's scent marks or his bite on her thigh. We all just wanted to hold her. But I think we over whelmed her…When she went to take a shower, she shut the bathroom door.”
”I noticed she's been doing that,” says Richy, ”In our bathroom she normally only gives the door a half-hearted push. But she's been pushing it all the way closed.”
”Well,” Cougar continues, ”she was in there a long time. Normally, if she's in there showering by herself she's pretty quick, twenty minutes max. But more than an hour passed so I went in to check on her and found her crouched down in the shower crying quietly. I asked her what was wrong and she asked me if the door was closed, said she need it closed. So I stepped over and pushed it closed. I went back to her and asked her to tell me what was wrong and she said, 'I can't get his damn stench off of me.' I suggested we try the baby wipes and she nodded. I turned off the shower and helped her out, wrapped her in a bath sheet and pulled the baby wipes out from under the sink… Luckily, the wipes worked really well on removing Fjord's scent marks. And fortunately her belly's so big from the pregnancy, she can't see his bite mark on her inner thigh or she might be freaking out over it.”
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”We just have to do our best to be loving and supportive,” says Greywolf. ”She'll talk about it when she's ready with whoever she needs to hear her. Puddle is with the group that joined Animalistic. Perhaps they'll talk and help each other heal. I think I heard Puddle thinks she's pregnant. It'll be her first baby if she is.”
”Do you think she'll ever talk to me about it,” Richy asks Cougar.
Cougar takes a deep breath, ”You're the one person whose thoughts about her actually concern her most. She worries about what you think about her. She's afraid to lose your love even though my father has assured her multiple times that's impossible… You just may be the one person she'll never discuss it with.”
”Can we finish this game later,” Richy asks Cougar. ”I need some air.”
”Sure Richy,” responds Cougar understandingly. Then he and Greywolf watch Richy leave the room.
After Richy's gone, Greywolf asks Cougar, ”Do you think we should tell Mist about those sex toys we found in the house.”
”Hell no,” answers Cougar firmly. ”One, it's illegal to remove evidence from a crime scene. But I didn't want that stuff in the reports where the wrong eyes might read it. Talia would be mortified. Plus, the last thing Richy needs is visions of what Fjord did to her dancing in his head. He knows Fjord mated with her, marked her. He don't need to see those toys too.”
”I was just thinking it might help him be more understanding with Talia,” explains Greywolf, ”Help him accept that she's different now.”
Cougar shakes his head, ”He knows. He'll come to terms with it.”
Cougar wakes as Talia slides out of bed in the middle of the night. It's not unusual for her to get up to urinate in the middle of the night. He hears the toilet flush and the sink comes on for a minute then turns back off. But Talia doesn't exit the bathroom. So he slides out of bed careful not to wake the other men. He slips into the bathroom remembering to shut the door behind him. He finds her sitting in the dark on the edge of the tub staring at nothing.
He sits in front of her and asks, ”Are you feeling alright?”
Talia looks at him and says, ”I think I'm a whore.”