Wicked NOT Dead: A True Blood Fan Fiction Chapter 11

REBECCA

She slipped silently from underneath Alcide's arm and off of the couch. As she took her first step she froze and looked down at Alcide who was shifting his weight around. He found a more comfortable position and became still. She could see his eyes moving from beneath their lids. Darting back and forth as if he were scanning his surroundings. She knew what he was dreaming about because she had been in the it with him. He was chasing the black wolf through the woods surrounding Belle Vita desperate to catch up to him and find out what he was doing there. The frantic nature of Alcide's chase is what had woken her. Something about the invading wolf had stuck in Alcide's subconscious. Glancing at the clock hanging on the wall she saw that it was a little after two a.m. Monday morning. Somewhere during the movie she had put in the night before they had fallen asleep. She tip-toed into the kitchen and and opened the refrigerator door. She grabbed a handful of grapes and a bottle of water and then leaned against the counter watching him. They had spent their Sunday at the botanical garden getting schooled in the local flora and fauna with the Whitstaff's. She had made the plans with them while working in the garden earlier in the week and was pleasantly surprised when Alcide asked if he could come along the night before. When they came home she had made him dinner and they had settled in for the for the night on the couch. They'd managed to spend much of the weekend together despite the fact that Rebecca had spent the evenings unpacking with Mason and the just arrived Silvia. On Friday he came back with dinner and they had sat by the pool talking and then making out in the newly hung porch swing until Mason had screamed into her head to get a room. Saturday Alcide arrived unexpectedly in the late afternoon taking her for ice cream in town and he had humored her while she hopped in and out of the local shops. She thought he rather enjoyed the fashion show she put on for him at the little vintage shop she had seen the blue dress in. Of course it could have had everything to do with the fact that he got to sneak peeks of her from between the dressing room curtain. When he offered to stay the night and help unpack the library and living room she had happily accepted. It had taken them the entire night to unpack the alter room so she was thankful for the help and the opportunity to be near him. Mason had managed to distract him with construction questions when at one point Alcide asked what exactly they had done the night before. He had taken to Silvia and she had caught him watching Mason and her together several times. She read the relief he had in knowing that Mason was in love with someone else. In the early morning hours they had left Mason and Silvia to it and had gone back to the trailer to crash. Alcide was a gentleman kissing her gently goodnight before taking his place on the couch. She had wished he had been lying beside her the whole night and now here he was again passed out on the couch letting out the occasional grunt which made her laugh and wondering if she should wake him up and lead him back to her room to sleep in her bed. She was torn between speeding things up and keeping the current pace. She knew Alcide wanted her and every time they separated she felt the end of the night with no nookie male disappointment but she also knew there was a part of him that thought that she had given it up to Jason far to easy. She didn't want to confirm any possible doubts he had about her being easy pickings by jumping right into the sack with him too. At least he had taken her out on a proper date first she thought letting out a sigh. There would come a point and soon that she wouldn't be able to keep her head on straight when he held her. She was becoming far to attached to the feel of his lips on hers and his hands touching her. She felt the need grow greater every day and the withdrawals when he was out of her sight were becoming more than just a gnawing in her stomach. 

She walked quietly through the living room and into the bathroom. Her thoughts travelled along the same line as she cleaned up and stripped down. She was lost in her own  mind when she opened to door and bumped right into Alcide. 

" Holy shit" she squeaked out " you scared me." 

" Good thing you just pissed then huh?" His face still held that just woke up sleepy haze but his grin told her he'd had been lying in wait for the chance of just her reaction. 

She snuck under his arm and gave him a slap on the ass as she went by. He tried to swat her back but she weaved out of his way and he promised to get her back for that one as he closed the bathroom door. 

She climbed into her bed and looking up at the ceiling listening to the pros and cons from the angels on her shoulders she waited for Alcide to come out. She heard the door leading into the hallway open and sat up on her elbows to see Alcide standing in the doorway. " Good night Becca."  

" Night" she called back and flopped down onto the pillows. Not even a good night kiss? Hum? She moved restlessly around the bed trying to find a spot that would shut her down for the night but sleep would not come. She had been sleeping perfectly fine all by herself for a very long time. It was infuriating that she now couldn't even make her eyes close for more than a few seconds at a time. She could feel him though the walls. The heat coming off of his skin and the deep breaths he took to steady his heartbeat. She could see his brown eyes at the wall that lead to her and she heard him thinking how he wanted to be in that bed with her. 

She sat up and threw the covers off of her. "The hell with it" she whispered into the dark. 

Caution be damned she thought as she made her way into the living room. She wanted him next to her. 

She marched up to him and put out her hand. " Alcide would you like to come and lie in the bed with me?"

He looked at her for a minute and then sat up and took her hand. She pulled him up and he encircled her bending his head to give her a soft sweet kiss. She smiled happily and lead him into bed where she settled perfectly into his arms. He held her tightly and brushed his lips across her shoulders and neck. She took both of his hands in hers and closed her eyes. It was the best nights sleep she could remember. 

ALCIDE

                                                                                                                       

  Rebecca hit the wall with a thud but instead of crying out she laughed naughtily and squeezed her legs tighter around his waist. She pulled at the back of his shirt until she got her hands inside moving them slowly up his back. She grabbed the back of his hair and pulled his head back and once his eyes meet hers she took his bottom lip between her teeth and ran her nails hard down his back. Pain rain through him and he jerked his head back but Rebecca held his lip between her teeth just long enough to break skin. 

He moved into her pinning her against the wall with his pelvis and reached behind him to grab her hands pulling them up over her head. " Like it rough do you?" 

He was seeing a side to her he hadn't yet but figured was in there somewhere. The wilder side of his nature was taking hold of him as well. The closer it got to the full moon the more the beast bubbled up from within. They had been out dancing with Sookie,Tara, Layafette and Jesus. He really wasn't much of a dancer so with the exception of a few slow dances he had sat and watched the girls from the sidelines. So maybe it was the images of the girls bodies moving to the sound of the music or the shots he had downed at Lafayette's insistence that made him grab her before she could even close the door. They were in the main house and he knew that upstairs Mason and a few of his men were working but that hadn't stopped him. He had taken one look at her backside in her tight dark wash jeans and the curves of her creamy shoulders peaking out from her black tank top and made his move. He'd grabbed her under the arms and pulled her up to kiss her. She had kissed him back kicked off her shoes and wrapped her legs around him. They did a little dance around the room until he found that he needed leverage to grasp control on the situation and of her.

She closed her fingers around his and moved forward grinding her body into his. His mouth made it's way across any exposed skin they could find. She moaned and giggled when he started down the middle of her neck working his way down into her cleavage. He wanted all of her and he took her hands and wrapped them around his neck so he could grab the button of her jeans.

 " Why are you wearing pants?" He murmured. Every other night they had gone out she had worn a dress or a skirt. The inability to undo the button added to his frustration. 

 His pants started to vibrate his cell going off in his pocket.

 " Mmmm nice" Rebecca giggled as he continued to work on the button finally grabbing it and pulling it off.

" Hey your going to sew that back on" she teased her voice barely a whisper. She looked very appealing all disheveled. Her eyes wide with excitement. her lips swollen from his kisses. 

" I'll buy you another fucking pair" he growled as he slipped his hands down the back of her jeans and grabbed her ass. 

The vibrating in his pocket started up again. She reached down into his pocket and grabbed far more than his phone. He hissed at the pain that rain through is body. He needed to get his pants off just as much as hers. 

She looked down at the phone. " It's your sister."  

She was one of the last people he wanted to talk to at a moment like this. He took the phone from Rebecca's hand and put it in his back pocket.

Rebecca pulled back " You don't think you should get that?"

" No" he said pulling her back to him. But after three more rounds of the phone ringing and the buzzing he knew that he was going to have to let her go and pick up the phone. When it started ringing again he sighed and let out a "fuck me" before lowering Rebecca and digging into his pocket. All of the calls were from Janice. He looked back at Rebecca longingly, before putting up a finger for her to wait. He then walked into the living room to take the call. A few minutes later he came back out a scowl on his face. Rebecca came from the kitchen a couple of glasses in her hand. 

" Everything all right?" she handed him a glass and he took a drink before speaking.

" No my Dad's gotten himself into some shit tonight. Janice wants me to handle it." He put his glass down and reached for her. 

" If you need to leave I understand" She moved away as he tried to nuzzle her neck. 

" I don't want to leave" he said trying again.

" But if Janice called you that many times it must be important. I don't want you neglecting your family. Besides it's getting late and tomorrow is another day" She smiled and sipped her tea. He saw it then. She had turned the switch on him. He let her go and sat down on the couch.

 You got to be fucking kidding me he thought. Every time he got anywhere close to her she put on the breaks. Every step forward he took she took one back. He was beginning to wonder what the hell was going on. She didn't make that prick Jason wait more than a couple of hours.

" What did you just say?" He hadn't said any of that aloud had he? From the look on Rebecca' s face he must have. He had fucked up royally.

" You have got to be kidding me right? I mean, you did not just say that. You did not just bring him up again. How long do you plan on bringing that night up? Do you want me to tell you that that night was a mistake? Well it was. There are you happy" she slammed her glass down on the table behind her " It was a big fuck up of a mistake it is not something I am proud of nor is it something I have ever done before." 

His disbelief over the last part of her rant must have shown on his face. He had heard that one before and he couldn't help but doubt that she was being truthful.

She looked hurt and then she got angry " You son of a bitch. Are you going to sit there and pass judgement on me? Can you honestly say in all of your years that you haven't had a one night stand? That you haven't picked up some hot chick with big boobs and a loose disposition, fucked her and then forgotten her by the next night? Do you want to know why we haven't slept together yet? The first reason was because of this." She moved her hands back and forth in the air between them. She was on the verge of screaming and he wondered how long it would be before Mason walked in the room to witness his shame " I didn't want you to have the idea in the back of your mind that I was some kind of whore. That I slept with every guy that crossed my path. I didn't want you to think it was so easy for me to stray. I also wanted you to know that unlike Jason you mean something to me. I wanted you to know that you weren't a passing fancy or a piece of ass. I wanted you to know that I wanted something real with you. But I don't know why I bothered because apparently non of that means a fucking thing to you." She marched from the room. 

He sat stunned and listened to her go through drawers in the library. He didn't know how the hell this had happened. How his tongue had betrayed him. He hadn't meant to hurt her but he also couldn't help how he felt. He'd tried to erase that night from his mind completely but apparently he hadn't. He couldn't help that he felt jaded by woman since the last one did him so dirty. He shouldn't take Debbie's betrayal out on Rebecca but he was still angry and he'd never let her have it the way he should have. He'd just walked away and now he was in the middle of a fight he should have never started with the girl he was falling hard for. 

Rebecca came back into the room and he stood and reached for her. The look in her eye and the sag of her shoulders made him want to die. He'd do anything to erase the last few minutes. He wanted to hold her and tell he was a prick himself and ask her to forgive his stupidity. She didn't deserve any of this. He knew she had done nothing wrong. 

 " Don't you fucking touch me. You don't get to call me a whore in one breath and then try to hold me the next. I don't switch gears that quickly." She tossed a piece of paper against this chest hitting him so hard he buckled inward. He looked down at the paper taking a minute to realize what it was he had in front of him. It was test results of an STD panel, all negative. He was a complete shit and having this piece of paper in his hands was proof of that. She believed, he believed the absolute worst of her. 

" You want to know how many men I have been with Alcide?" she was pacing back and forth her hands clenching and unclenching. He didn't want her to answer that question but now when he needed his mouth to move he couldn't say anything. He didn't think anything he would say would make this situation better. 
" Four. Two of them are dead and the other two are going to be in your face in some form or another for as long as you are in my life. We all have a past Alcide and we all have baggage. There are things about my past relationships that you may not understand. There are parts of them I carry with me just like everyone else. But I don't want to be compared to the woman in your past any more than you would want to be compared to the men in mine. I am not Debbie. I have done nothing to wrong you and I don't want to take the blame for what happened between the two of you. I want you to want to start something new with me. But I be damned if I'm going to be made to feel horrible about myself because of your jealousy." She stopped and turned away from him grabbing on to the table to steady herself. Her breathing was staggered, any minute the tears would start to flow. 

This night had come to an ugly and abrupt end. He knew it was time to go but when she spoke again she confirmed it. " I would like you to leave now." Her voice was soft and sad. The anger had been drained from her. 

He walked past her but turned back and said her name. " Becca?"

She looked at him. Her eyes shinning " Not now Alcide. Not now" 

He nodded and walked out of the door as it closed behind him he heard the living room doors slide closed and the muffled sounds of her crying. 

        She was gone. He had arrived for work that morning and found that her car was not next to the trailer. When he went into the house he found a short note saying she was going away for a few days. Nothing about where she was going or when she would be back. He went through the motions of his day and left before Mason would arrive. He didn't want to see the disapproval he already felt in Becca's protectors face. He called her several times each time getting her voice mail. He found himself telling a machine how sorry and stupid he was. He wasn't surprised when she did not call him back. He tossed and turned his way though the night finally giving up and headed down to the gym in his building hoping to work away the anxiety that ran through him. He missed her. Every ounce of him. He hoped he'd get a chance to fix the mess that he made. 

By Friday the silence was driving him mad. He swallowed his pride and waited for Mason's truck to pull up into the drive just after dark. He had to at the very least know where she was. That she was alright. Mason's attitude was aloof and stern but he told Alcide what he wanted to know and then had left.

It was close to ten p.m. when Alcide finally heard a car pull into the drive. He had been sitting in the living room listening to the rain beat down on the roof of the house. He didn't move when he heard her walk though the door and call out Mason's name. She heard her talking softly to Emmy and Saffy telling them that if they did not behave and stay out of trouble their first meeting with the big house would be their last. Two wildly excited blurs ran past his sight off to explore their new domain. He heard her place their carriers and her bag against the wall and giggle. When she came around the corner she was smiling and shaking her head looking in the direction the girls had run off to. When she turned her attention towards him his heart stopped. She was dressed in a cream business suit her two toned heels making her legs look long and lean. Her hair was up and wound tightly against the back of her head. She looked surprised to see him. 

" Alcide what are you doing here?" She put her keys down and slipped the jacket of her suit off and hung it up on the coat rack in the foyer. 

" Waiting for you" 

" I see. Is there something wrong with the power?" The room was only candle lit. They illuminated the bareness of her shoulders. The dress was cut into a heart shape and her skin seemed to shimmer in the low light. 

" Went out about an hour ago." 

" This weather came out of the blue. I was about a half hour out of town when I saw the sheet of rain in my headlights. It was like I drove through a waterfall." She took a seat across from him. 

" I am glad your home" 

" Glad to be home" she smiled. It was a start. 

" Mason said you have been in New Orleans."

" Yes I had some work there I had been putting off. It seemed like a good time to go and get it taken care of" She shifted uncomfortably in her seat uncrossing and recrossing her legs. " The trip was productive I got a lot accomplished. It was a good thing that I went." Her manner was distant and cool. 

" I called you several times. I wanted to..." she stopped him.

" I got all of your messages Alcide." she kept his gaze.

" But they don't mean shit now do they?" She shook her head. " I fucked up Becca." 

" You said what you were thinking, what a piece of you thought. I understand that sometimes people say stupid shit when they don't get their way. But that doesn't change the fact that you hurt me. I am wounded by your disapproval and feel like you have cast me as some sort of harlot. There is no one else Alcide. You either believe me or you don't. I only want you. To be with you. I can't change what has happened to you though I truly wish I could. I can't claim to be perfect or to have an unmarked past. All that matters to me now is the present. This place and the here and now. My hopes and fears lie in your hands. You can either choose to take me as I am or you can walk away. I won't keep fighting with you Alcide. That is not who I am."

He had practiced what he was going to say at this moment for days. He was going to tell her that she was right that his sexual history was far more varied than hers. That he had his share of momentary flirtations. That it was a double standard to think any less of her for doing exactly what he himself had been guilty of. He'd done things he wasn't proud of either. Things in the name of his youth and of his other nature. Things he wasn't sure she would ever be able to understand. He shouldn't blame her for his bad relationships. He was a better man than he had shown her a few nights ago. The hardened exterior that he had put into place to protect himself hadn't fallen away completely. He was looking for reasons to walk away. Because he didn't understand why this felt so right. Love at first sight was not a idea he had ever believed in. But he couldn't help but feel he couldn't live without her. He didn't want to fight with her either. He didn't want to walk away. He moved from the couch and knelt in front of her. 

" I'm sorry Becca." It wasn't everything that needed to be said but it was the most important. He searched her face for some sign that she would forgive him. Her hand came up and with the cup of her palm she caressed his cheek. She held it there for a moment then turned it over and ran it across his face. 

" I know you are my sweet. I know" She moved the hair out of his face and bent forward to plant her lips on his forehead. He grabbed her then pulling her to the edge of the seat and wrapped his arms around her. He waited until her arms found their way around his neck and then buried his face into the nap of hers. He held her tighter and tighter while she ran her fingers though his hair. She put a finger under his chin and brought his face up to meet hers. 

" You and I Mr. Herveaux are a complicated lot. But nothing that is good in life comes without bumps in the road. I will follow you down any path you choose as long as you want me beside you." Her eyes were clear and full of sincerity. 

" I will always want you." he said huskily. He meant it in much deeper ways than he'd ever known before. For she had woken him up and gave him hope. The crazy whirlwind that was the last few weeks brought him to this place. He no longer wanted to be alone. He only wanted to be with her. Call it obsession, call it crazy but whatever happens don't take it away. The last few days had been torture for him. He hadn't never been completely lost without someone before. He both feared and longed for what grew inside of him. He'd never find the words to express himself fully. He'd have to show her. 

Her lips meet his and he breathed all of her into him. His mouth searched hers, their kisses growing deeper and longer until they were both breathless. She pulled away and stood taking his hand and leading him back onto the couch. She walked over to the coat rack slowly unzipping her dress as she went.  It slid down to her waist and she stepped out of it hanging it on the hook next to her jacket. The cloth that was left pushed up her breasts and cinched in her waist. The curves of her hips lead down to her legs which were covered from the thigh down in stockings with the seem running down the back. She looked like one of the 40's pin up girls he'd seen in his Granddad's World War two trunk as a kid. Her movements were meant to seduce, her body was meant to be touched. He waited and watched as she made her way back to him and propped a still heeled foot onto his thigh. She snapped the top of her stocking to let him know he should remove it and as he put a hand on each side of her leg he brushed his lips across the indention of her inner thigh. As the stocking moved down he ran his tongue across the newly exposed flesh and when he reached her ankle he lifted her foot and removed her shoe before pulling the stocking off. He kissed the top of her foot and then let it go. He retraced his path with her other leg and when finished she sat in his lap and began to unbutton his shirt. He pulled it off and sucked in his breath as she ran her nails across his chest. She undid the button on his jeans and cupped his crotch smiling devilishly at the state he was in. Her hand remained in between his legs as she moved in as if to kiss him but each time they almost made contact she would pull her head back just enough to keep it from happening. 

" Your killing me" he moaned grabbing her up and pulling her on top of him. He worked his hands down the hooks of her corset freeing her breasts and tossing it behind him. Her head snapped back and she laughed. " Easy now tiger you break it you certainly will be re-buying it."

" Whatever you want Becca" his hands moved to her face his thumbs caressing her cheeks his eyes taking in her body. He'd seen her in various stages of undress all teasing him with what was just underneath but now he could see how amazing the flesh that covered her was. She was magnificent. 

" Then give it to me" She moved his hands down her body pushing herself upward when they got to her panties. He pulled them off and pushed his hand between her legs moving his fingers back and forth across her lips. She threw her head back and sighed. It thrilled him to find that her condition was just as far gone as his.

" Now Please" she murmured.

He left her just long enough to slip off his jeans and as he pulled on the condom from his back pocket he watched as Rebecca watched him, caressing herself. 

With eyes on fire she hooked her pointer finger in his direction. " COME HERE" she demanded pulling him back to her.

She opened up to greet him and as he slipped inside her, she gasped making him stop. " Becca?" 

"Don't stop" she pleaded.

" I don't want to hurt you" 

" Right now that is what I really want for you to do" her hands moved down his back to his ass and she thrust him inside her. She sucked in her breath and then sighed as he slowly started to move in and out of her. He let the sounds she made dictate how deep he went. He moved his hands and lips all over her body taking note of the spots that made her moan,lift her hips or grab on to him. He wanted to please her. He wanted to drive her as crazy as she made him. He'd pulled back and slowed down when her breathing became hurried. He brought her back and forth to the brink, his pleasure increasing by the reaction her body had to his. Finally franticly she pleaded with him to end it and with that he started to loose control, his movements getting quicker and quicker. Her back arched, her pelvis thrust upward and her muscles tightened around him. He growled loudly as she grasped the arm of the couch and let out a cry of her own.   

 He collapsed on top of her and then thought the better of it. His weight might crush her but as he tried to get up she pulled him back to her and told him to stay. 

They lay like tangled up in one another for a long time talking softly, their bodies twitching, the heat they had created evaporating the sweat that covered them. He realized that she was almost as warm as he was. He was used to being snuggled up to for comfort. But he found it was he who found warmth next to her another thing that was new to him. After a while he pulled himself up and taking her hand pulled her over with him to the other side. She nestled into the curve of his body and and he covered them with the blanket on the back of the couch. The last thing he remembered before he drifted off was the smell of her hair and the silky sensation of her fingertips as the moved across his stomach. 

REBECCA

                                                                                                                                     

She stood uncovered and bare in the moonlight of her front window. Alcide slept silently behind her. The candles still flickered around the room dancing brighter now than before at her minds gentle insistence. Her entire being was on fire so it made perfect sense for the element to be with her in the room. Her body felt electrified and flowing with a power she had forgotten she had. She figured if she put her hand in the nearest socket she could easily light up the entire house. She also ached in places she forgot she could ache. Alcide's manhood was a force of nature all it's own and it would take her some getting used to. It was a challenge, that after the last few hours she was more than up to tackling. She shouldn't have been at all surprised considering the size and strength of the rest of his muscles but one's innards still take a jump upward when presented with a penis of such grand scale. She smiled and held in a giggle. She wished she had more girlfriends cause she found she would really enjoy calling them even now in the middle of the night just to brag. She didn't feel guilty at the thought for she was sure that Alcide would want to do a bit of bragging of his own. A smirk had formed upon his face as he fell asleep and it was still plastered there now. The wind howled outside the window the rain coming down in sheets and watching it sent a shiver up her spin. The drops of water brought back memories that hurt her in a totally different place. Her heart was conflicted filled with joy at being here with Alcide but aching for the losses she had endured on a night like this five years ago. 

    They had been driving home from a exhibit at the Met. Even at five Sage loved art and Rebecca had been going on about how proud her Grandfather would be to know that his love for the masters was blossoming in the newest generation. They were but five minutes from their apartment building when a cab ran the red light and sideswiped them. The force was so great that it had loosened her seat belt and threw her through the windshield. She was dead before the paramedics arrived. Christian was trapped behind the steering wheel. The jaws of life reaching him just to late. He bleed out, a jagged piece from the bumper of the other car had pierced his femoral artery. He'd been awake until he took his last breath screaming at them to help Sage, who sat paralyzed in the back seat. Her head and neck had snapped back so hard it had left her unable to move, she had whimpered softly at the sound of her fathers voice until it stopped. When they had pulled her out she'd been unconscious and unlike her mother who had awoken on the rain soaked ground with the white sheet already covering her body Sage never woke up. 

Her daughter.... Rebecca's chest heaved at the thought of her. Such a sweet young girl full of light and promise. She had thrived when they moved to the city. She was confident and always looking for new things to discover and explore. She was a dreamer just like her Mother. Sage's life was yet another thing she had yet to tell Alcide. She only revealed what his questions had required her to. Not wanting to be dishonest but not wanting to reveal the most painful parts of herself without provocation. How do you articulate the loss of a husband and a child to someone you have just meet?  How do you explain what happened to them without laying all of your secrets bare for them to see. She wasn't even sure what had happened that night. She did not believe it to be an accident but she could never prove any of it. The driver had died on impact the answers to her questions died with him. The idea that it was a deliberate act hit her even before air refilled her lungs and the spark of fire restarted her heart. It took her a few minutes for the film that covered her eyes to clear and for her to realize that the white before her eyes was not heaven but a covering meant to keep prying eyes from starring at her lifeless body. She had been told what to expect if and when this ever happened to her. There as no assurances that it would. Just the a history within the line on her father's side. It had not flowed through her fathers veins he hadn't woken up after the bullet that struck him in the gut. But there she was blinking away her death trying to drown out the humming in her ears and shake off the sparks of regeneration that ran though her nervous system. She had sat up unnoticed in the chaotic scene that surround the crash. She stood on shaky legs. One shoe lay a few feet away so she kicked the other one off and bare feet upon rough pavement she slowly she made her way to them. Their spirits were standing beside their bodies. The EMT's still worked on Sage her body still alive but without a soul. Another ran his hands across Christians eyes and with the sign of the cross said a prayer. They stood unnoticed hand in hand watching the scene play out. In their usual unison they looked up at her at the same time. Sage waved and Christian smiled neither surprised to see her still flesh and blood. It had always been a possibility. One that would go unproven unless a night like this came to be. She had never wanted to find out like this. Not at the expense of her family. She had left home to avoid loosing them. But fate had found them anyway and now they stood on one side of the world and she on the other. No tears passed between them. Just love and understanding. The last thing she remembered before she faded away was the feel of Alex's arms around her and his gentle voice whispering in her ear.  

The air in the room changed signaling that Alcide was awake. She placed her memories back into their drawer and closed it tight just as he reached her. She fell back into his body finding comfort in it's warmth. Were's were so good to snuggle against. 

" Hello" He said into her ear echoing the memory of her last train of thought " You okay"

She nodded and took one of his hands his other arm wrapping itself around her shoulders. " Just watching the rain drown the moon." 

He looked out and caught it's gaze. His relationship with the moon was contentious. He bent to it's will and soon he would have to meet it's call. He didn't want to think about that then, he took his eyes off the glow outside and back onto the naked woman in his arms. 

" It is beautiful" She tried in vain to keep the conversation going in the direction she wanted it to go. She gave up hope of a revelation being revealed when he lay his lips across her shoulder blade and let thoughts of having her again run through him. His body reacted to his fantasy and he pushed his growing erection into her backside. 

" So we meet again" she giggled reaching back and grabbing him. She wiggled out of his embrace without letting him go, the pull making him whence but grow harder. Slowly she stroked him keeping her eyes on his but pushing away all attempts he made at taking hold of her. 

" Keep your hands to yourself  if you please" It was a demand not a request and if he didn't want her to stop he would do as she asked. He grasped his hands behind his back and watched her move up and down his body. She pressed her bare ass against his crotch and her erect nipples against his back. She did to him what he had done to her, working to find the places that drove him to the edge and then when at the brink she moved her focus to next spot. When his knee's buckled from underneath him she tsk tsked and let out a methodical giggle that let him know she knew exactly what she was doing. 

" Loosing control of your limbs there Alcide" He thought what she was doing to him was some sort of paid back for his bad thoughts. A sadistic sexual gamesmanship. He also couldn't help but like it. Keeping one hand on his dick she put the the other on his chest pushed him back against the wall. 

" Here have a wall, it should help keep you upright for what comes next" She gave his ass a slap, let him kiss her once and then moved her way down his body. As her lips meet the tip of his cock she looked up to see him close his eyes and give thanks for the power of forgiveness. 

           

     "You are a sadist" he said some time later as he slid down the wall pulling her with him. She had let him dangle somewhere between heaven and hell for quite a while before finishing him off. She squirmed around between his legs until the vibrations running through his body sent a message to his arms to still her.

 " For fucks sake Becca your going to kill me if you don't sit still."

She threw her head back and laughed " Can't take a taste of your own medicine there big boy"  She reached back and tugged on his beard. 

" So that was your perverted version of payback huh?" he asked

" Yep and it sure was a bitch wasn't it?" She was pretty sure he had blacked out a few times and she was sure that he hadn't experienced anything better before as he kept saying just that over and over in his head. 

" Evil evil woman" He started to tickle her which made her jump and squirm.

" No NO NOOOOOOO stop it right now" She laughed and pushed and kicked her way out of his grasp falling backward hard on the floor. 

" Ouch" she cried and reached for to rub away the pain. 

He made a grab for her legs but she put them up and pushed hard against his chest moving him back onto the wall. 

" Oh no you don't cease fire and I mean NOW" her big toe meet his chin and he nodded his agreement. But as soon as she let her guard down he pulled her back to him her legs wrapping around his back. 

" You were just to far away" He gave her her grin and she kissed him right in the middle of it. 

He played with her hair which was now half up and half down pieces flying all around her face. He found the pins that held her chignon together and pulled them out. She shook her head and ran her hands though it. " Your sister worked long and hard on that hair do."

" Ah hell Becca don't want to talk about my sister while I am sitting naked on your living room floor." 

" Why ever not?" she asked innocently. 

He gave her a look that said REALLY? but then asked her what he wondered anyway. "What were you doing with my sister?" 

" She came with me to New Orleans." His look told her that Janice had not mentioned that.

" She probably didn't want to be put in the middle of things, she mentioned your mood when she arrived and saw mine. She didn't ask any questions and I didn't offer up any answers but I am sure she knew that we were having a row."

" I understand. Janice doesn't like to involve herself in other people's crap." He thought back to the calls that had caused the drama between him and her. If she had gone to help their Dad instead of insisting he did it the last few days would have been avoided. 

" There was a convention she wanted to go to this weekend but couldn't afford so I offered to pay her way in if she did my hair for the last couple of days. She excepted gladly and now she is happily incased in my house in the french quarter."

" Living high of the hog and drinking all of your booze I bet." 

" She can have as much as she likes but she isn't alone my Aunt and Silvia are there so she won't be able to get into to much trouble." She kissed him lightly. " There's something else I should probably tell you and I hope you won't be upset by it." She pulled away just a bit so she could get a better look at his face

" Go on and tell me" he hated to think of what his sister had gotten into. 

" Your sister is a proud woman, not unlike her brother really but she is also going broke and she is worried that her business won't be there when the shop is rebuilt. She's been getting in home work but not enough and she is antsy. So I promised her I'd help her."

" Help her how?"

" Mason and the crew are there now working to fix it. I bought the materials and she will repay when she is back on her feet or she will do my hair for the rest of my life which ever comes first." 

It displeased him to know she had gone behind his back. " Why did she come to you? She knew I was going to take care of it."

" Yes but you've been preoccupied with this job and trying to keep the business afloat and the problems your Father has been making. She decided she needed to find a way to make things happen for herself. She told me she wanted to stop relying on you to pick up the pieces for her."

" But how is you helping her any different?" 

" Because she doesn't want to you to feel obligated to fix things for her. Taking a loan from me is business. You are her family. She wants you to have one less thing to worry about in your life." His hands went through his hair and he sighed. " She wants to be successful. I'd like to do what I can to help her." 

He nodded his acceptance. " She made a decision all her own. I should be proud of her for that." he knew it would have been hard for her to ask anyone else for help. " Thanks Becca." 

" Your welcome."

" Hey why'd you call out for Mason when you came in earlier if you knew he was going to be in Shreveport?"

" Oh he called me on the road and said he'd be waiting for me to get home before he left. I guess he wanted to make sure I came up here to the main house first." He knew wouldn't have come up to the main house in this weather if he hadn't asked her to or if she knew Alcide was there waiting for her. Until she actually saw him she wasn't sure she was ready to yet.

" Hummmm." Alcide figured he owed Mason for this night.

" Was he hard on you while I was away?"

" No. He acted much better than I would have in his situation. It took me to tonight to face him."

" He does have a unapproachable air about him. Even I don't like to talk to him when I've done wrong. He never throws blame in your face but you know you have disappointed him." 

" He commands respect that's for sure. I wasn't afraid he'd kick my ass but I didn't want to have him tell me what a asshole I was either." He gave her a I ain't scared of no one glare. 

" He likes you or he'd have come after you before you'd left the drive that night."

" Well thank God for that." He touched her cheek " I'd have deserved it though." 

" Yeah you would have but I forgive you." She kissed his fingers and let out a yawn.

" Your getting sleepy their princess?"

" Yep but I think it is my ass that is the most asleep. This floor may look good but it's way to hard on the bum."

" Wanna take this party upstairs then?" He lifted his eyebrows and leered at her suggestively.

 " They brought your bed in while you were away." The master bedroom had been finished during her absence. 

" Why the hell didn't you say that earlier." She slapped him on the shoulder the sound echoing against the wall behind him. 

"Wasn't taking any chances of screwing up the moment." He grinned.

" Ummm Hummm. Comfort goes out the window if it interferes with the end result. Guess if I were in your shoe's I have just kept my mouth shut and went with the moment to." She stood giving him a full frontal view. She had lost his attention to the pull of her vagina. She put her middle finger down in front of her crotch. 

" Such a perv" she said before turning and taking off towards the stairs. 

He sprang to life and caught up to her just as she reached the first step. She squealed as his arm went around her waist and laughed loudly as he spun her around his back before tossing her over his shoulder. 

" Gonna show you just how pervy I can get now."  He smacked her ass with his free hand and started up the steps. Each step he took his hand meet her backside. At first she took it barely having the time to prepare herself in between the stings. But halfway up the steps she figured she could give as well as she got. Her hand meet his rhythm the sound of the duel slaps sounding like a drum beat gone wrong. 

He carried her into the room and tossed her down on the bed. " You hit hard." He turned to show her the red hand prints on his ass. 

" Oh and you don't" She turned and showed him hers. This time when he lunged for her she she saw him coming and rolled off to one side. Alcide came down on the bed empty handed. 

" I demand sheets before you attempt to defile me again." He propped himself up on his arm looking very much like a naughty centerfold. 

" You get sheets and I get you? Sounds like a fair trade." He popped up off the bed.

"Back up" she said. " I do not trust you." He held up his hands and backed up letting her get by. The first thing she did was pull a t-shirt from a strategically placed bag on the floor. The work of Mason she thought.  His psychic abilities must have been working over time. Inside she also found the sweat pants Alcide had been living in when at her place. She tossed them to him.

 " Cover up the goods hot-stuff." Much more comfortable in just his skin he did so begrudgingly. "Sometimes there was just to much nakedness in a room." 

She pulled out pillows and sheets from one of the many trunks in the room and waved him away when he tried to help. He walked over to one wall and started looking through the prints propped up there. 

" Did you take these?" She looked up and saw which ones he was looking through. They were pictures of places all over Manhattan. Most had been taken by Christian. She didn't know if this was the best road to go down at the moment but when she looked up again from pulling on a corner of the bed she saw he was looking at  her waiting for an answer. 

" There are a few of them that are mine but most of them were taken by Christian ." She watched his face which didn't fall even a little at the sound of her husbands name so she continued. " He always loved to take pictures and when we moved to New York he had a whole new world to capture. He was sitting at a coffee shop with his computer one afternoon and a woman sitting next to him saw some of his prints on the screen. She liked what she and asked him if he'd ever worked professionally. From that day on he was a working photographer."

" I don't know much bout photography but I like them."

" He had a fabulous eye. It drove me mad at times cause even when I was done snapping away he would still be at it. I left him places many times because he just wanted to get the perfect shot." she rolled her eyes at the memory of how much that had bugged her." I am thankful though to have the memories he captured."

" How long were the two of you married?" 

She stopped in her tracks. " Alcide are you sure you want to have our first post coital topic to be about my dead husband?" She listened to his head to be sure it mirrored what came out of his mouth.

"Our first conversation was about my sister and your undead protector" he shuddered " I figure after that I can handle this just fine." she was still doubtful. 

"He was a part of your life. His memory will be hanging in the house" He pointed back to the prints and thought of the paintings hanging downstairs done by Mason and Alexander. " So yeah if you can talk about it I want to hear it"

"Okay then" she went back to unfolding the top sheet " We were married almost seven years." She flung it up into the air and watched it come down waiting for his next question. Her lungs seized up when she read what it was before he spoke it.

" You never had kids?" He thought maybe it had been because they had married young or because there was something wrong with one or the other of them.

She sat down on the bed. A blinding pain rain through her head making her clutch her temple. She felt like she was standing at a crossroads and didn't know which way to turn. But there was no way she could be anything but truthful now that the question had been asked. She had told her self as the questions were posed she would willingly lay out the answers. The rain had made her open the drawer earlier and now it needed to be opened again.

" Becca?" Alcide stood in front of her. One look at her face and he knew. He was far more perceptive than he'd ever give himself credit for " You did have children."

" Yes. A daughter named Sage. She was almost six" She could feel the wet stinging heat of the tears as they flowed down her cheeks but the pain inside stayed compact. " She died with her Father."

Alcide cussed within his head. It hurt him to hear of more heartache and to know he was the one who picked at the wound but he still wondered why she didn't tell him before. 

" I'm sorry I know I should have told you before. It's such a callous hateful thing not to mention. It makes it seem like I didn't love her which I did or honor her memory which I do but that night I died to. Everyday I have to live with the fact that they are gone and for whatever reason I am still here. I find it hard to share my pain and grief with anyone. Not those who knew me before that night nor those who I have meet since. Most of my friendships in the last five years have been superficial or business related. No casual acquaintance want's to hear my sort of tale. I put the two of them in a little compartment in my soul and take them out  and deal with my pain when no one else is looking."

" So you talk to no one? Not even Mason?"

"My family and I had a falling out over the accident. We have yet to heal all of the animosities that came from that night. The friends I had then I either pushed away or they didn't know what to do with me and left. As for Mason yes he was a great comfort to me as was Alex but after he died I changed and Mason and I haven't talked about the night of the accident in depth for a very long time. I shut that part of me down. It was what I had to do to keep moving. It may not be how everyone would handle that situation but it was what worked for me."

" And now?" He sat down on the bed putting his arm around the her back he stopped just short of holding her. He wasn't sure she wanted to be touched but he wanted her to know that he was there if she did. 

" Now I am telling you." she leaned into his shoulder and gratefully accepted his arm going around her pulling her tighter against him. " Tonight when I was standing by the window looking out at the rain I was taken back to the night they died. It was raining just like this then. Christian was paying extra attention to what was going on around him not participating at all in the conversation Sage and I were having. I was talking to Sage about fun things that she loved because she hated the thunder and the lightening. I was scared about driving in the mess to. My gut always churned when I was out in the elements and Mother Nature put on that kind of show. I was laughing at something Sage said to me when the cab struck us. I remember praying for mercy right before everything went black. I woke up in the hospital my Mother, Mason and Alex by my bed. I didn't need them to tell me what I already knew. They were gone."

Alcide kissed the top of her head and squeezed her shoulder " I am so sorry."

 She wiped away the tears and put on a sad smile. " Me to... Me to." She wanted to turn things away from the dark by showing him a bit of the light that had existed before they had passed. " Would you like to see a picture of them?" she asked.

" Yes" he said simply. He meant it to. 

" Okay wait right here." She gave his knee a slap and then ran from the room and down the stairs. She didn't have any pictures on display yet in the house. She hadn't wanted to answer any questions from her new friends but now that she had finally told Alcide she knew she could tell everyone else as well. She went into the library and stuck her finger in the knothole of the secret room the door slid open with a creak in greeting. The room was now full of pots and jars, books and stones and she looked around for just a moment taking in the good vibes in the room. She went to the wall closest to her and pulled down a framed picture. She didn't wait for the door to close behind her when she left the room but ran lightly back toward the stairs her toes making a tap tap tapping sound on the wood floor. Alcide was waiting where she left him and he took the picture from her hand when she offered it. 

" I took this in central park a few days before they died. Sage was obsessed with the zoo. She just loved the colors of the birds and would sit in the aviary for hours if we'd let her. She'd started bringing a sketch pad that summer and she and her Dad would sit side by side, her drawing the birds, him taking pictures of them. I'd just sit back and watch them both and this was the result." In the photo father and daughter sat side by side with a love bird posed on each of their shoulders. They were all looking at one another.

 " They were so proud of me for getting this picture. It used to sit on her bookcase."

He ran his hand across the picture. He was thinking how Christian and he were nothing alike and how much Sage looked like a combination of her parents. Her fathers nose and hair and her mothers eyes and smile. 

"She's beautiful just like her Mother" He said softly. He took her hand and placed a kiss on her forehead. 

" How very sweet of you to say."  She smiled. It was the first time he had said it and he had meant it but his thoughts also went away from her and onto himself. 

He knew she'd been a great mom and would be again which made him doubt if he was the man for her. Cause even now looking down at what he could have he didn't want children. He could never live with a child of his going through what he went through. Becoming what he had to become. 

She understood his fears, she wasn't sure she could chance having any more children either. The pain of the loss of one was more than enough. She'd spend her life just the two of them if that is what he wished but she couldn't tell him that without outing herself. She'd have to know his secret to understand his fears and to convince him that he was more than enough.

" You think it would be alright if we just get under the covers and see about getting some sleep?" She was tired and it didn't seem right to do anything else.

" Whatever you want Becca, Should be fun sleeping in a bed that was actually meant for two people." The bed in the trailer was a full, half of Alcide had hung off the end.

 She pulled back the covers and climbed in on her side. "The mattress is new so we're gonna have to work at breaking it in."

 " I think we can managed that" he said as he slid in and got next to her. He started counting all of the ways in his head.

She chuckled and thumped him on the chest. " I don't even what to know what you are thinking do I?"

"Nope" he replied. 

The laid on their backs Alcide's arm resting on her shoulders each lost in their own thoughts. After some time Alcide's voice called her back to the room

 " You asleep yet?"

" Nope not yet? 

" You wanna tell me what your thinking about?" 

" Probably not what you think I'm thinking about."  He moved on to his side so that he could see her face.

" So tell me."

" I was thinking about how Etienne and Adele used to sleep together in this room and how happy they were here." 

" What do you think they would think about you and I "sleeping" in this room together now?" he asked moving his eyebrows up and down.

" I think that they were both very fond of " sleeping" together and would be more than happy to know that that there was lo.... She paused not sure if she should complete her thought. She searched his face looking to see if it would be to much to soon what she found was the happiness of a man who wanted to here her say it.

" You can say it cause it sure wouldn't be a lie."

" I'd like to think they would be thrilled to know that there was love in the house again." she squinted her eyes from his gaze and bit her bottom lip. Big word to put out in the universe and powerful admission to cop to. 

He kissed her and said " I owe your Granddad a huge debt of gratitude for building this house cause it brought you to me. From the moment I first saw you Becca. Standing their on that front porch I knew I could run but I would never be able to hide from it. But if paying him back proper means I get to spend my time loving you within these four walls then I will. Cause I do Becca. I love you."

In that moment all of her dreams came true. She had found her soulmate and he was right beside her telling her the one thing everyone wants to hear. She hoped that the new found love they shared would be enough. She pulled him to her and sealed the declaration with a kiss worthy of the moment. She spent the rest of the night showing him just how much she loved him to.