Music: MOMENT OF LOVE by 2002

The smell of cooking pulled me the from the depths of slumber. My mouth started to water although I cannot say I was overly hungry. 

The door opened and Sarah entered carrying a tray with a steaming bowl of whatever she had prepared. She placed the tray on the dresser then approached the bed.

"Good afternoon, sleepyhead," she said, a smile curving the corner of her mouth. "Can you manage to sit up?" 

She reached over to grab the other pillow and I caught a glimpse of her breasts down the front of her top. I fought an involuntary response down below, yet again. 

Pressing my palms on the mattress I pushed myself up, grunting; I still had some aches and pains. 

Plumping up the pillows, she settled me back against them very gently. I made a concentrated effort to keep my eyes on her face. 

She lay the other pillow across my lap - in one way that was a relief. 

Tucking strands of her hair behind her ears she moved to the dresser, collected the tray then brought it over, resting it on the pillow upon my lap. Still, I focused on her face.

She unfolded a napkin and draped it over my chest and shoulders. "Chicken noodle soup," she announced. "It was always what my mother made when I was poorly. An old-fashioned remedy, but effective."

Transfixed, all I could do was nod. She dipped the spoon in the broth and lifted it to my lips. Her eyebrows raised, questioningly. I offered a sheepish grin - she was waiting for me to open my mouth. 

The warm soup slipped over my throat, the chicken enhanced by seasonal herbs and vegetables. Simple, but extraordinarily flavoursome. She fed me more.

Now and again her eyes met mine, the sparkle in them doing things to me beneath the pillow which I fought to ignore. I thought talking may distract me. "How long have I been... human?" I asked, smirking at the ridiculous question.

"Two days," she replied, raising another spoonful of soup.

"I've been asleep all that time?" I gasped. She tipped the broth into my mouth.

"Uh-huh. The first time you opened your eyes was four hours ago." 

She let the spoon rest in the bowl and dabbed my mouth with the napkin before resuming her task of feeding me.

"And, how long was I..." she tipped another spoonful in my mouth, a little quickly I thought.

"Dead?" she asked, a hint of pain rippling within her eyes. Her question took me completely by surprise.

"I was going to say - a raven," I replied a little hesitantly. 

As I looked into her eyes, I suddenly remembered her tearful face at the Dark Portal, heard the sounds of her desperate pleas, and wailing 'Caagaw' to the skies. Her grief washed over me with crystal clarity.

She trembled as she lifted the spoon to my mouth again but I shook my head, I wanted no more. "Please, put it aside," I said. 

She did as I asked and put the tray back on the dresser, then remained facing the window, silent, head slightly bowed. Her grief still plagued her.

My muscles and bones ground together from aches and pains, but I pushed myself up out of the bed. I needed to wrap myself around her; try to offer comfort. Not only had she mourned for me, but she'd bravely borne the grief of countless others from my assumed death. Nursing me back to health had to be a new kind of indescribable pain.

"Sarah," I said softly, reaching towards her.

Before I knew it, her arms were around me, holding me tightly. She was sobbing against my chest, her tears warm against my skin.

If I could have absorbed all her pain, I would have done so in an instant, but regrettably, it was outwith my power. I could only be there for her and help to ease the pain. "I'm so sorry, Sarah. For everything; not telling you my plan, putting you through unnecessary grief. And before - the way I reacted when you confided in me - I - I should have been supportive and understanding. Please forgive me. I would turn back time and change it all if ..."

She sniffed back her tears. "I have had enough going back in time," came her muffled reply. "I never want to return there again, Khadgar. I want no future either, only the present - the here and now. This moment."

I pulled back from her. She lifted her eyes to mine and I saw rivulets tracing down her cheeks; so much grief and pain still held within.

Gently, I wiped them away with my thumbs and kissed her cheeks before pulling her close again.

And then it truly dawned on me; the magnitude of her pain was still to come. One day, we would be parted for good, and our son would also leave this life, leaving her alone to carry on, ageless, timeless.

I then understood why she wanted this moment to stay untouched, unblemished. Her pain was far from over, and again, I was incapable of helping her.

I became acutely aware of the softness of her lips as they brushed against my skin and her breath on my chest, arousing me anew.

I mumbled an apology and turned from her. Her fingers curled around my hand, forcing me to remain. I glanced back to find something akin to pleading in her eyes. Had she somehow interpreted my moving away as a rejection?

The need to reassure her tumbled from my mouth in a pained, incoherent whisper. "It's not that I don't want - I just thought -  with all that's happened..." I felt oddly shy and awkward.

She moved round in front of me, placing her hands on my chest.

"I have been afraid to touch you until this morning," she said, her eyes tracing over my skin. "Up until then, I feared you still weren't real - that I was dreaming and you'd end up vanishing in a puff of smoke. I was terrified I would wake up alone again, Khadgar." She lay her head against my chest.

"Forgive me, Sarah, I never meant to hurt you. Be rest assured, I'm going nowhere. I am here for you, and Ocel. We are going to spend time as a family, and I am going to shower you in whatever your heart desires."

She lifted her eyes to mine. Her lips parted in a soft smile. "All I desire is you," she said, her hands moving over my chest. The sensation of her touch stimulating me again. I tried to divert my thoughts, to block out the need for the kind of intimacy my body was aching for; screaming for.

Her eyes met mine and her hands lifted to my face, tracing my brow, cheeks, nose and mouth. "I am as much in need of love..." She pulled back a little and glanced down between us, "... as you are." A soft laugh tumbled from her lips and her eyes looked back up at mine. I blushed at the less than subtle display of my avidity.

She planted a small kiss on my mouth. "But we should wait until you are fully recovered," she said. "For now, just hold me, and let me heal you."

As she lay next to me, her Demon Hunter markings glowed releasing gentle wisps of white-gold, sparkling, floating, caressing me, easing all my aches and pains. I felt I was being renewed, reborn.

I watched her eyes exploring me, her hands hovering over my body. She was giving herself to me in the most profound, spiritual way.

As I felt myself tumbling towards the brink of sleep again, I heard her soft, heartfelt words, "I love you so much, Khadgar. You are home now. You are safe. With me."