Post by lucymalta on Aug 7, 2009 22:56:54 GMT -10
So... Does the Wolf return?
Lucy
Chapter 21
Walking up the stairs, Horatio led the way, his fingertips catching against Mich’s hand. At the top, he pulled her close for a hug before wishing her goodnight and made his way to the guest room. Mich swallowed, accepting his decision, knowing that while they were getting closer, Horatio was still wary of returning to the intimacy of their previous relationship.
Mich sighed, she had expected him to be shocked by her news, had hoped that he would never actually want to know the number of people she had removed from life, knowing how much it would hurt him to discover the truth. Yet, looking back over the last few weeks she realised that today’s conversation had been inevitable.
Mich felt the frustration and anger building and determinedly pushed it to one side, her resolve to work things out strengthening – but she also felt the wall building inside of her, felt the stories of the past being locked away.
Watching as H disappeared down the corridor and into his room, Mich’s head dropped slightly. Though she felt hurt by Horatio’s action, it was nothing compared to his shock right now. She had to give him time to come to terms with that, not push for anything more, though all she wanted was for him to hold her, to scare the nightmares away. She still was unable to sleep completely through the night alone, though with Horatio’s return she was sleeping better.
Turning to her room, she went inside and undressed slowly, putting on her robe to go to the bathroom. Gradually she brushed her teeth then her hair, all the time thinking what she could do to keep talking. A smile appeared on her face, maybe now was the time to tell him about the rest of the family… Her grandfather’s work during the war, her brother now… It would be great one day if he could meet Gran…
As she made her way along the landing a sound made her pause but there was nothing, so she continued to her room. As always she had left the curtains open, able to see the stars through the window as she lay on her bed, it made her feel better. Closing the door, she sensed something was not quite right and spun around, seeing the silhouette in front of the window.
As Mich froze in place Horatio stepped forwards, his hand reaching out to cup her face, she leant into it, eyes closing, unable to prevent the tear from escaping. “Horatio, I need to tell you…”
“No. No more Mich, I don’t want to know any more.”
“But it’s about my family. Who we are…”
Horatio placed his finger on her lips, “It doesn’t matter. Getting you to talk has helped me to understand why you react the way you do, but making you live through the past is not going to make things any easier – in fact, it might make it worse – I don’t want to go there.”
“But…”
“No Mich, you’ve opened up to me and I’m thankful for that, but now we should concentrate on the present and build on what we have together. I don’t want to go there any more, lock it all away in a box and throw away the key. I’ve seen your pain, felt it, now its time to heal.”
As Horatio pulled Mich close he could feel the silent sobs make her body shake and knew he had made the right choice. Gritting his teeth he forced his own anger away, for a while Mich would need him at his most gentle – his most understanding while she tried to rebuild herself.
The realization that Mich had probably taken more lives than he ever had or would shocked him to the core and he told himself off for naively thinking that maybe she was responsible for just a small number of deaths. In just a month in Miami, she had killed half a dozen people involved with the Cartels.
He frowned to himself, wishing he had never asked the question because he should have worked it out for himself. He himself felt the burden of the deaths he had caused – but Mich’s was far, far heavier than he had ever imagined – and with his reaction he had just increased the weight of it all.
Once again he cursed all government agencies that used people in this way. However, his shock had pushed Mich away, stripped her of whatever confidence she had and he wanted her to get it back. He was thankful that she still wanted to talk – his reaction could have caused her to retreat and turn from him, however she was here still wanting to volunteer information, though from her face he knew it was a conscious effort on her part.
As he held her in his arms, he almost wished for her to be back to her confrontational self, fighting him, arguing with him, but knew that would probably never happen, but maybe, just maybe, her strength and confidence within her own ability would return.
&
Horatio stirred and found the bed next to him empty, from the darkness in the room he knew it was still night time and sighed, hoping that Mich was alright. The next moment a clap of thunder sounded above his head, preceded almost immediately by a flash of lightning. In that fraction of a second he saw Mich standing by the window, looking through the glass, her arms wrapped around her unclothed body.
Standing up, he managed to locate his robe, but could not see Mich’s anywhere. Slowly he walked across the room and joined her, putting his hand softly on her shoulder. “Are you ok?”
Mich turned her head and gave a soft smile, “The storm woke me up – it’s gonna be a strong one. I can’t help watching.”
Horatio smiled in return, “What is it with you and storms? Horses named after winds…”
Mich blushed, “I guess you can blame my grandfather for that… When I was small storms scared me, so one day, he put his armchair by the window during a thunderstorm and sat with me. He said that it was only God playing skittles with the angels…”
Horatio was confused, “Skittles?”
Mich laughed, “Like bowling, but with nine wooden pins set in a diamond… The lane is cambered and made of wood… The balls too… Makes one hell of a racket.”
“I bet, so what about the lightning?”
“That was one of the angels getting excited when they knocked all the pins down. My grandfather showed me the beauty of the storm – and the power. I guess that is still with me.” Mich’s voice became somber, “Later, the storm became my friend… When I needed to work, it hid any noise, covered my tracks so I could escape.”
Horatio felt Mich’s skin turn cold under his hand, realized that she was sliding into a negative mind set. He opened his robe and wrapped it around her, feeling her skin against his own. “maybe you and the storm are closer that you realize.”
Her curiosity stopped Mich from thinking further about the past. “What do you mean?”
Nodding his head toward the window, Horatio spoke softly. “Look at the wind – blowing everywhere, unrestrained. It reminds me of you – your spirit - how you push yourself on without letting people prevent you from reaching your goals.”
“It’s destructive.”
“It can be – but accompanied by the rain… Water… The giver of life… The cloud formations are beautiful – I know you agree with me on that.” Mich nodded but said nothing, “The lightning highlights the beauty of the storm – but we know that the electricity it creates has great power.”
Mich shivered and felt Horatio’s arms tighten around her, felt the bare skin of his chest warm against her back. “So the storm combines power, beauty, destruction and freedom. Is that how you see me?”
“Yes, but at the moment the destructive part is trying to consume everything else – your spirit is fighting that, trying to balance the power and the beauty.”
Mich became quiet, trying to get her head around Horatio’s words, trying to understand his meaning. “Power is dangerous. Makes the destruction stronger.”
Horatio smiled, “But when power allies itself with beauty and freedom… Destruction loses… Every time.”
“You think I can do it?”
Lucy
Chapter 21
Walking up the stairs, Horatio led the way, his fingertips catching against Mich’s hand. At the top, he pulled her close for a hug before wishing her goodnight and made his way to the guest room. Mich swallowed, accepting his decision, knowing that while they were getting closer, Horatio was still wary of returning to the intimacy of their previous relationship.
Mich sighed, she had expected him to be shocked by her news, had hoped that he would never actually want to know the number of people she had removed from life, knowing how much it would hurt him to discover the truth. Yet, looking back over the last few weeks she realised that today’s conversation had been inevitable.
Mich felt the frustration and anger building and determinedly pushed it to one side, her resolve to work things out strengthening – but she also felt the wall building inside of her, felt the stories of the past being locked away.
Watching as H disappeared down the corridor and into his room, Mich’s head dropped slightly. Though she felt hurt by Horatio’s action, it was nothing compared to his shock right now. She had to give him time to come to terms with that, not push for anything more, though all she wanted was for him to hold her, to scare the nightmares away. She still was unable to sleep completely through the night alone, though with Horatio’s return she was sleeping better.
Turning to her room, she went inside and undressed slowly, putting on her robe to go to the bathroom. Gradually she brushed her teeth then her hair, all the time thinking what she could do to keep talking. A smile appeared on her face, maybe now was the time to tell him about the rest of the family… Her grandfather’s work during the war, her brother now… It would be great one day if he could meet Gran…
As she made her way along the landing a sound made her pause but there was nothing, so she continued to her room. As always she had left the curtains open, able to see the stars through the window as she lay on her bed, it made her feel better. Closing the door, she sensed something was not quite right and spun around, seeing the silhouette in front of the window.
As Mich froze in place Horatio stepped forwards, his hand reaching out to cup her face, she leant into it, eyes closing, unable to prevent the tear from escaping. “Horatio, I need to tell you…”
“No. No more Mich, I don’t want to know any more.”
“But it’s about my family. Who we are…”
Horatio placed his finger on her lips, “It doesn’t matter. Getting you to talk has helped me to understand why you react the way you do, but making you live through the past is not going to make things any easier – in fact, it might make it worse – I don’t want to go there.”
“But…”
“No Mich, you’ve opened up to me and I’m thankful for that, but now we should concentrate on the present and build on what we have together. I don’t want to go there any more, lock it all away in a box and throw away the key. I’ve seen your pain, felt it, now its time to heal.”
As Horatio pulled Mich close he could feel the silent sobs make her body shake and knew he had made the right choice. Gritting his teeth he forced his own anger away, for a while Mich would need him at his most gentle – his most understanding while she tried to rebuild herself.
The realization that Mich had probably taken more lives than he ever had or would shocked him to the core and he told himself off for naively thinking that maybe she was responsible for just a small number of deaths. In just a month in Miami, she had killed half a dozen people involved with the Cartels.
He frowned to himself, wishing he had never asked the question because he should have worked it out for himself. He himself felt the burden of the deaths he had caused – but Mich’s was far, far heavier than he had ever imagined – and with his reaction he had just increased the weight of it all.
Once again he cursed all government agencies that used people in this way. However, his shock had pushed Mich away, stripped her of whatever confidence she had and he wanted her to get it back. He was thankful that she still wanted to talk – his reaction could have caused her to retreat and turn from him, however she was here still wanting to volunteer information, though from her face he knew it was a conscious effort on her part.
As he held her in his arms, he almost wished for her to be back to her confrontational self, fighting him, arguing with him, but knew that would probably never happen, but maybe, just maybe, her strength and confidence within her own ability would return.
&
Horatio stirred and found the bed next to him empty, from the darkness in the room he knew it was still night time and sighed, hoping that Mich was alright. The next moment a clap of thunder sounded above his head, preceded almost immediately by a flash of lightning. In that fraction of a second he saw Mich standing by the window, looking through the glass, her arms wrapped around her unclothed body.
Standing up, he managed to locate his robe, but could not see Mich’s anywhere. Slowly he walked across the room and joined her, putting his hand softly on her shoulder. “Are you ok?”
Mich turned her head and gave a soft smile, “The storm woke me up – it’s gonna be a strong one. I can’t help watching.”
Horatio smiled in return, “What is it with you and storms? Horses named after winds…”
Mich blushed, “I guess you can blame my grandfather for that… When I was small storms scared me, so one day, he put his armchair by the window during a thunderstorm and sat with me. He said that it was only God playing skittles with the angels…”
Horatio was confused, “Skittles?”
Mich laughed, “Like bowling, but with nine wooden pins set in a diamond… The lane is cambered and made of wood… The balls too… Makes one hell of a racket.”
“I bet, so what about the lightning?”
“That was one of the angels getting excited when they knocked all the pins down. My grandfather showed me the beauty of the storm – and the power. I guess that is still with me.” Mich’s voice became somber, “Later, the storm became my friend… When I needed to work, it hid any noise, covered my tracks so I could escape.”
Horatio felt Mich’s skin turn cold under his hand, realized that she was sliding into a negative mind set. He opened his robe and wrapped it around her, feeling her skin against his own. “maybe you and the storm are closer that you realize.”
Her curiosity stopped Mich from thinking further about the past. “What do you mean?”
Nodding his head toward the window, Horatio spoke softly. “Look at the wind – blowing everywhere, unrestrained. It reminds me of you – your spirit - how you push yourself on without letting people prevent you from reaching your goals.”
“It’s destructive.”
“It can be – but accompanied by the rain… Water… The giver of life… The cloud formations are beautiful – I know you agree with me on that.” Mich nodded but said nothing, “The lightning highlights the beauty of the storm – but we know that the electricity it creates has great power.”
Mich shivered and felt Horatio’s arms tighten around her, felt the bare skin of his chest warm against her back. “So the storm combines power, beauty, destruction and freedom. Is that how you see me?”
“Yes, but at the moment the destructive part is trying to consume everything else – your spirit is fighting that, trying to balance the power and the beauty.”
Mich became quiet, trying to get her head around Horatio’s words, trying to understand his meaning. “Power is dangerous. Makes the destruction stronger.”
Horatio smiled, “But when power allies itself with beauty and freedom… Destruction loses… Every time.”
“You think I can do it?”