Ryan was stunted dead in his tracks, staring inside one of the bedrooms with wide eyes. He didn't know what else to do other than just stare and stay where he was. "I don't want to go in there." He muttered to Paris, "I'm scared to interrupt her."

"I don't blame you." He replied, in just as much shock.

It probably came as no surprise that Joy was freaking out now that she'd finally seen her room. She easily took the most damage during the fight and had been in a hospital bed for the past four days. Now, she seemed like she was going to explode from the amount of rage and frustration filling her tiny little body. It seemed she couldn't focus on dealing one thing without finding five more things to fix.

Ryan set down the tray of meds on the end of Friday's bed. "Here, let me help." He spoke as he leaned down, picking up a rose hair clip and scarf that were on the ground. 

"No!" She yelled at him, "You'll just get in the way. Get out, and tell Friday to get back here and pick up her shit!" Joy grabbed the items back from him forcefully.

"Fine, I won't touch anything else, but you know you're not allowed to cuss. You're lucky I'm in a generous mood today." He replied.

"Oh, gee, I'm so scared." She grumbled.

"Watch it." Ryan sneered, "Look, it's obvious you want me out of your face, but you need to take your meds. Please, just cooperate for once." 

He picked up the glass of juice on the tray, offering it to her. At this point, her doctor had learned it was easier to giver her her medication in a liquid form and hide it in Kool-Aid. She took it from him, glaring. If she could, she'd throw it in his face. That'd just be another mess to clean up though. Joy raised the glass to her lips and quickly chugged all of it. While doing so, she flipped him off with her free hand. Ryan never thought he'd be longing for the days of having Dusk and Asher grinding on him.

"Thank you." He sighed as he took back the glass. Ryan collected his things quickly before she threw a fit over them being in the way. As he stepped into the hall, he saw little Friday running their way. "Hey, I was just about to go looking for you. I need to give you your meds."

"And you need to get your butt back in here and help me clean up this mess!" Joy yelled.

She whimpered, gravitating towards Paris, "Later, please." She pulled on his shirt. "Micah finally woke up! C'mon!"

Paris was gone within a second. If he could, he would've stayed by his love's side all day and night. Unfortunately, he did have a job to do, but Friday had been watching him around the clock. In a way, she'd kind of become like the couple's daughter. Ryan followed behind a little slower. He knew it was best to give them their time with him.

Friday and Paris reached his room upstairs. In the short time they were gone, Beau managed to slip inside to check on his coworker. Friday had already informed him of Micah's waking before telling Paris. The vampire soon found himself in tears to see his love's eyes once again.

"Why are you crying, amour?" He inquired through a scratchy voice.

"I was starting to worry you weren't going to wake up." Paris sobbed, falling over his chest, "You were out for four days. You had me so worried." 

"Four days?" He said, finding it hard to even believe. 

Beau nodded, "Yes, shockingly. Drake admitted to me that he used a spell that turned your power against you. Meaning your rare ability to control wind left you in bad shape. It caused the air inside your body to wreak havoc on your organs. On top of it, Apollo released a toxic smoke into the air. Your lungs were too weak to handle it at that point, but as long as you wear Jasper's pact, something like that could never kill you. You'll be on bed rest for a long time."

"Well, isn't that just great?" Ryan muttered jokingly from the doorway. He walked inside, placing a few pills in Friday's tiny hand. "Don't think you can run from me, missy."

"I wasn't trying to." She responded, "May I please have some water?"

He walked over to a small table beside the entrance to the balcony. Ryan had never been in another servant's room before. It was pretty damn nice in here for him being a servant. He picked up a silver pitcher of water and poured a small glass for the pipsqueak. 

"I guess that means you're taking care of my patients right now?" Micah asked.

"Yeah. Shae and I are the only ones that are able to. So, I've got all your patients, and he's got Felix's for the time being. Obviously Friday and Marci aren't much of a problem. Joy could use some work though." 

He stifled a laugh, "That's her, though. How's Marci? Is she okay?"

"She's been better, but she's got Felix by her side. That's all that matters." He gently smiled.

"I must say, you seem a lot less rigid than when you first arrived here, Mr. Sitkowski." Beau stated.

He looked down at Friday, who was currently sitting cross legged on the edge of the bed, sipping her water. She even made drinking water look cute. Ryan softly smiled, "A few things have softened my edges. I should leave you alone. I'm sure you want to have some alone time with each other, and I have more patients to get to still tonight."

Beau offered his hand out to the smallest vampire. "We should leave them be. Come, dear. I'll get you a treat for taking such good care of Micah for me."

She smiled brightly and hopped down from the high bed. Friday delicately placed her glass back on the table it came from, then followed Beau and Ryan out the door. It was for the best that Paris was given alone time with the love of his life. His heart was so relieved to finally be back in his warm embrace.

He closed his eyes, resting his forehead against Micah's. "S'il vous plaît, ne me faites pas peur comme ça*."

"Don't worry, mon amour. No matter how much damage I take, it'll never kill me. Je serai avec vous jusqu'à la fin des temps*." He whispered. Micah placed a very delicate kiss on his mate's lips. "Obviously, I'm far too ill right now, but once I am better, I would like us to mark each other. As long as you're okay with it."

His face lit up. "Okay with it? I'm more than okay with it!" Paris stole another kiss, this one much more heated. "Je t'aime*. Éternellement vôtre."

"Je t'aime aussi. Éternellement vôtre." He replied happily.

The emotions they felt were indescribably. They both couldn't believe what they'd survived. Even if they couldn't die, they still had a natural fear of death. It's that fear that strengthens love and family bonds.

| | |

Ryan's decent mood at taken a quick nose dive. In the last few days, Asher had repetitively made a game out of having to take his shot. He liked to hide from Ryan just to piss him off. His head was leveled out still and he could be trusted to be around others for the time being. That, however, didn't mean he still wasn't an asshole. 

After checking his usual places, Ryan realized he was being an idiot. He knew exactly where that little slut had run off to. Reluctantly, Ryan headed back to his own bedroom. He opened the door to find the demon laying on his bed, reading a book casually. You'd think by the way he acted that it was completely normal for him to me in here. 

Ryan didn't say a word. He walked up to Asher, grabbing his arm and jamming the needle in carelessly. It may sound harsh but Asher didn't even flinch. He happily took the sudden pain. Eventually he'd pay Ryan back for it anyways. It's not like it phased him much. 

"Someone's in a mood." He mused, "I like it."

"I'd appreciate it if you got out of my room. And stayed out. This is my private space and I'd like to keep it that way." He replied, removing the needle.

Asher was actually kind of shocked to hear him speak that way. He was never one to talk back like that. At least, he wasn't anymore. "You don't have to be so cold." He murmured.

Ryan sighed shortly, "I'm sorry. It's just been a Hell of a day. I've just been thinking about a lot of things."

"Like?" He asked, getting silence. "I'm not going to tell anyone."

"How do I know you won't go to Jasper? You're all as loyal to him as a lap dog." 

"It doesn't matter. Jasper knows everything that happens in this manor. Anything you say out loud, he'll know. If you even think it, he knows, so there's no point in keeping it all bottled up." Asher explained.

Ryan figured at this point, he had nothing left to lose. He laid down beside Asher, keeping some space between them. "I've just been thinking about what I'm going to do when my contract runs out. The one I have isn't like the others. It's just a short term six week contract. I don't know if I should get a permanent contract or just leave."

"You can't leave!" Asher quickly said. The words just slipped out, without him even thinking. "I-I'm sorry. I just mean, I don't want you to. You actually spend time with Dusk and I. Shae never did that. He's never cared about us like you do."

"Shae cares, I promise. He just doesn't think you guys need compassion. No matter how evil someone is, they do need love. Dusk told me he wasn't always this bad, though. I don't know what happened to him. I'm just not sure what's right for me right now. Even if I leave, I am a member of the society now. I'll be able to come back."

"It won't be the same..." He murmured. Asher pulled his legs up to his chest, dodging his eyes way. He'd never looked so vulnerable before.

Ryan swallowed his pride and decided it was best to act like a decent person for once. "Come here." He said.

Asher looked back, confused. "Hm?" 

"You heard me. Come here." He extended his arm outward, giving Asher a place to lay into his side. "That's much better. Tell me the truth. Why exactly do people talk about you and Dusk like you two are Satan?" 

He sighed, "Well..."

__________

S'il vous plaît, ne... = Please, do not scare me like that again.

Je serai avec... = I will be with you until the end of time.

Je t'aime = I love you. (aussi = too)