Neve woke with a faint start when Jacqueline touched her forehead to check for fever.\u00a0 She blinked blearily at the younger woman, then slowly sat up.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow\u2019s Cameron?\u201d were the first words that passed her lips.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis fever broke,\u201d Jacqueline said, \u201cso based on what you and Phelan said, I\u2019m thinking he\u2019ll make it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shuddering relief raced through her limbs and Neve nodded slightly.\u00a0 Thank all the powers that are and may become.<\/i>\u00a0 \u201cHe needs to be more careful.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s right here and not completely asleep,\u201d Cameron muttered, cracking one eye open blearily to peer up at her.\u00a0 \u201cLight sensitivity isn\u2019t as bad this time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood,\u201d Neve said, brushing her hand over his sweat-dampened hair.\u00a0 Either he\u2019s building some kind of tolerance or the wound wasn\u2019t nearly as bad as the first time. Maybe both.<\/i><\/p>\n
He smiled at her, then stretched with a slight wince.\u00a0 \u201cOof.\u00a0 Still feels like there\u2019s digging into my side, though.\u00a0 Hate that feeling.\u00a0 Especially when I know there\u2019s nothing there.\u201d\u00a0 He relaxed, glancing toward Jacqueline.\u00a0 \u201cWhat day is it?\u00a0 How long was I sleeping?\u201d<\/p>\n
She snorted humorlessly and shook her head. \u201cBelieve me, you don\u2019t actually want to know the answer to that question.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, either we\u2019ve already survived the Midwinter Eve show-down that they were going on about or we haven\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neve winced.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u00a0 Tomorrow,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019ll be tomorrow.\u201d\u00a0 And my cousin will be right on the front line.\u00a0 At least he\u2019ll have Thordin here to back him up.\u00a0 That\u2019s something, at least.\u00a0 And the rest\u2026they\u2019re all capable enough, I guess, but that still doesn\u2019t fill me with as much confidence as I\u2019d hope to feel going into this kind of situation.<\/i>\u00a0 Her lips thinned and one hand drifted down to find Cameron\u2019s beneath the covers.<\/p>\n
His fingers tangled in hers and squeezed.\u00a0 \u201cThen there\u2019s still time,\u201d he murmured, looking up at her.<\/p>\n
She swallowed hard.\u00a0 \u201cTime for what?\u201d<\/p>\n
One corner of his mouth twitched toward a smile.\u00a0 \u201cEverything.\u00a0 Endless possibility.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fever\u2019s scrambled your brains,\u201d Neve said.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re sounding like\u2026I don\u2019t know who you\u2019re sounding like.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jacqueline shook her head as she stood up from her position at their bedside.\u00a0 \u201cRegardless of who he\u2019s sounding like, I find the optimism refreshing.\u00a0 There\u2019s been a lot of determined fatalism around here lately.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat, are people saying that you guys can\u2019t win this fight?\u201d\u00a0 Cameron asked, rubbing at his eyes with his free hand.\u00a0 Be blinked to clear the last vestiges of sleep from his vision and stretched again, a little more carefully this time.<\/p>\n
Neve smothered a frown.\u00a0 Don\u2019t you dare be thinking about getting out of bed and trying to fight tomorrow.\u00a0 You\u2019ll never make it, and then where will I be?<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cNot so much that as they\u2019re saying they don\u2019t know how we\u2019re going to win, just that we have to.\u201d\u00a0 The healer shook her head as she cleaned her hands and dried them and packed up her kit.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not saying that it\u2019s not true, but after you hear it for the nine-hundredth time, it starts to get pretty old and maybe a little trite.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cameron nodded, his gaze sliding toward Neve.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you think?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019re here for a reason,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know what it is, but I\u2019m pretty sure it\u2019s not so we could get ourselves killed tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jacqueline nodded.\u00a0 \u201cProbably true.\u201d\u00a0 She paused on her way to the door.\u00a0 \u201cA couple of us will be back in a few hours to help you guys move down to the steam tunnels.\u00a0 That\u2019s where you\u2019ll be while the fighting\u2019s going on, just in case something violates the wards and makes a run at the housing.\u201d\u00a0 Her eyes drifted toward Neve.\u00a0 \u201cYou should probably get something off your chest,\u201d she said to her, then disappeared out the door and into the hall.<\/p>\n
Cameron blinked. \u201cWhat did she mean by that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t possibly expect to fight tomorrow,\u201d Neve said, pointedly ignoring Jacqueline\u2019s comment about unburdening herself.\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t need to know yet.\u00a0 How does she know?\u00a0 Did Phelan tell her?<\/i><\/p>\n
He wouldn\u2019t, would he?<\/i><\/p>\n
Oh yes he would.\u00a0 If he thought it was important for her to know\u2014and I guess that it was\u2014he\u2019d tell her.<\/i><\/p>\n
Neve closed her eyes for a moment.<\/p>\n
Cameron snorted and shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s not what I was talking about, but since you brought it up\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes snapped open.\u00a0 \u201cCam, you can\u2019t.\u00a0 Please.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re right, I probably can\u2019t,\u201d he said, gingerly pushing himself on an elbow.\u00a0 His body trembled slightly with the effort, but he was still much, much better off than he\u2019d been the last time something like this had happened.\u00a0 \u201cBut even if I could, would you let me?\u201d<\/p>\n
A lump built in her throat as she reached down and brushed her fingertips along his hairline, down the side of his face and along the curve of his cheek to his jaw.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d she whispered.\u00a0 \u201cPart of me would help you armor up for it.\u00a0 Another part of me just wants to wrap myself around you and not let go.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know which part would win if you were going to take the field tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded slightly, his gaze steady.\u00a0 \u201cWhat was she talking about when she said that you needed to get something off your chest, Neve?\u00a0 What\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked away, biting her lip.\u00a0 The covers rasped and he grunted in pain as he sat up next to her.\u00a0 One of his arms slid around her, shaky but still strong, and drew her against his side.<\/p>\n
\u201cNeve, come on.\u00a0 Whatever it is, you can tell me.\u00a0 How bad could it be?\u201d<\/p>\n
Phelan seems to think it\u2019s the end of the bloody world.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m pregnant, Cam,\u201d she whispered.\u00a0 \u201cAnd the baby is definitely yours.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Neve woke with a faint start when Jacqueline touched her forehead to check for fever.\u00a0 She blinked blearily at the younger woman, then slowly sat up. \u201cHow\u2019s Cameron?\u201d were the first words that passed her lips. \u201cHis fever broke,\u201d Jacqueline … Continue reading