Spell Checked (9 page)

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Mae heard a tap on her bedroom door.  It was Gemma checking to see if she was awake.

“Mae, are you up?”  Gemma whispered from the door.

Mae jumped out of bed and let Gemma in.  She had been awake for a couple of hours.  Last night’s dream still haunted her with its realness.  Her legs wrapped around Beck’s body, surrendering to orgasmic bliss as Beck drank from her, his hot breath sinking into her soul in screams of ecstasy, until she suddenly woke, feeling remorse and finding her body over-whelmed by gut-wrenching pain…something was wrong with Beck and Mae knew it.

“I hope I didn’t wake you, but I have no idea where the kitchen is and I need a cup of coffee,” Gemma explained, sitting on the corner of the bed.

“I was up already.  Just give me a minute to get changed and we can find the kitchen together,” Mae smiled and tried to sound light-hearted despite the distress she was feeling for Beck.

Once they arrived at the bottom of the stairs, Mae could hear Aidan chatting with Meredith.  By following the sound of his voice, they found their way to the large kitchen with a table sitting in the bay window.  Meredith and Aidan were sitting at the table, discussing herbs when Aidan looked over and saw them.

“I was just getting ready to send out a search party,” he laughed as he winked a Gemma.

“Ha ha very funny, Aidan,” Gemma shot back playfully.

“Breakfast is in the warming trays on the counter,” Aidan said, pointing to the large silver chafing dishes on the counter.

Gemma and Mae each fixed themselves a plate of food and sat down at the table next to Aidan.  “Where is Beck?” Mae inquired, last night’s dream left her all too uneasy concerning his welfare.

Aidan did not want to tell her the truth, but he had to say something.  “He’s not feeling well this morning,” he answered nervously.

“I didn’t think vampires could get sick,” she retorted, remembering what Beck said about being able to heal quickly.

“Well in Beck’s case it’s more self-inflicted than viral,” Aidan commented, not wanting to go into the details of this morning’s bloody fiasco.

“I’m going to check on him as soon as I finish my breakfast,” she replied, giving Aidan little room to deny her visiting him.

“I don’t think that is such a good idea,” responded Aidan, thinking that she was the likely cause for Beck’s pain.

“That wasn’t a question,” she countered, downing the last of her orange juice.

Aidan followed Mae all the way to Beck’s door, blocking her entrance when she got there.  Something was not right about this situation and she wanted to get to the bottom of it.

“Please Mae, don’t do this,” pleaded Aidan as he stretched himself out in front of her, in a final attempt to keep her out of Beck’s room.

“What are you keeping from me, Aidan?” she questioned as irritation started to grate inside of her.

“I can’t go into details.”

Mae pushed Aidan aside and entered the room.  As soon as she saw Beck, she put her hand over her mouth and whispered.  “Oh my God!” Mae’s heart sank as she saw his lifeless body lying on the bed.  His skin was so translucent she could see through it and he had black circles under his eyes.  She sat down on the bed next to him and held his hand.  His eyes opened slightly, turning his head slowly, and looking at her, disappointment washed over his face.

Aidan, what the hell is she doing here?
  Beck lashed out at his friend in thought.

I tried to stop her Beck, but she just pushed me out of the way.

“You look like death,” Mae said, moving the hair from his face and touching his cheek.  He felt like ice and the coldness of his skin left her chilled.

“Aidan he’s freezing.  Are there any electric blankets around here?” Mae knew Beck needed more heat and logically understood that regular blankets were not going to work.

“Not that I know of, I’ll get Meredith to bring up some hot tea,” he said as Mae started to take off her clothes.

“What are you doing Mae?” Aidan asked, completely shocked at the sight of Mae disrobing in front of him.

“I’m going to warm him up, I learned this in survival school.  Aidan I need you to strip him down.” Beck passed out again, so Aidan removed the remainder of Beck’s clothes as Mae crawled across the bed from the other side and got as close to him as she could, laying her body half on top of his.  “Aidan, is there a way for witches to create heat?”  She could feel Beck draining all the warmth from her and she began to shiver.

“Yes, you need to absorb as much energy from the room as you can but not from Beck.”  Aidan opened the curtains, letting the light in.  “Pull the light into you and transform it into heat by making the energy move faster,” Aidan explained.

Mae could feel her body getting warm again.  She concentrated on converting the light energy to heat and passing that warmth to Beck.  With what little energy he had left, he drew her closer to him, taking what he needed.

In the meantime, Aidan ran downstairs to get Meredith.  He was upset with himself for allowing Beck to fall into crisis while he sat downstairs eating breakfast and chatting with Meredith, instead of staying at Beck’s side.  He was completely winded by the time he got to the kitchen and started to explain the emergency to Meredith and Gemma.  Meredith ordered the kitchen staff to make some ginger tea and bring it up right away.  She quickly headed to Beck’s room, leaving Aidan to be consoled by Gemma in the kitchen.

Beck and Mae lay there, curled up in each other’s arms when Meredith arrived.  She stood there for a moment appearing to assess the situation and then walked over to the bed.

“You are one smart girl, Mae.  You seem to be making heat enough for the two of you and I can’t do anything beyond what you have already done.  I asked for some ginger tea to be sent up; it will help warm you both.  If you need a break, Aidan and I are in the kitchen and will be happy to relieve you.  So, as long as you feel you have the situation under control, I will leave you two alone,” Meredith said with a bemused grin.

“I think we’re good for now, I will let you know if anything changes,” Mae replied, not liking the idea of Meredith or Aidan taking her place.  She would lie here all day if she had to, cozy in Beck arms. 

Eventually Beck began to stir under her.  He opened his eyes, so she began to pull away, only to have him pull her tighter against him.

“Mae, please do not go,” he whispered lethargically.

She lay back against him as he closed his eyes and relaxed his grip.  He was producing his own heat now and she no longer had to concentrate on creating heat for both of them.  Mae could feel his hard muscles against her bare body and raised her arm across his chest, touching his face.  His arm wrapped around her waist, his hand splayed across the small of her back.  She lightly ran her fingers down his neck and chest, stopping at his waist.  Her leg lay across his inner thigh tangling with his legs.  Mae’s heart was beating hard and fast when he turned to his side to face her, dropping his hand to her rear.

His demeanor changed as soon as he noticed her nakedness against him.  “I need you to get Aidan for me,” he struggled to say.

Once again, feeling rejected, she quickly dressed and returned with Aidan.

“I am really starting to hate the size of this place and those accursed stairs,” Aidan complained to Beck when he arrived.

“Mae, I need you to leave and shut the door behind you.  I need a moment please!”  He did not want Mae to see him like this, his stomach cramping in pain once again.

Mae turned around and shut the door behind her, as tears started to run down her face.

“Aidan, I need you to help me to the bathroom,” Beck commanded, holding his stomach.  Beck was in pain again, only this time he was doubled over in front of the toilet, thanks to Aidan.  His stomach heaved relentlessly until he blacked out.

Aidan ran to get help and stumbled over Mae’s body at the bottom of Beck’s bedroom door.  She lay there in the fetal position holding her stomach, tears running down her face as pain contorted her insides.  Mae could hear Aidan yelling for Meredith.  He didn’t know what to do so he carried Mae back to Beck’s bed.

“Mere, I don’t know what the hell is going on here…Beck was in the bathroom throwing up a lung, then he passed out.  When I came to get you, I found Mae in a heap in front of Beck’s door.”  Aidan ran his hand through his hair and sighed.

Aidan and Meredith moved Beck back to the bed, then started to ask Mae questions.  “What happened to you Mae?”  Meredith asked, hoping she could explain everything.

“I was giving Aidan and Beck their privacy and as soon as I shut the door, I started to feel as if my insides were being torn out,” she explained.

“I need to make some calls.  What is going on here is beyond my scope.  Aidan, I need to talk to you in private.”  They stepped outside the door and closed it.

“I think I know what the problem is Aidan,” Meredith whispered, not wanting to be heard by the others.

“What would that be?” he questioned.

“I don’t know how it is even possible, with her being a witch but they have a vampires bond between them,” Meredith theorized.

“We need to talk to Beck before we tell Mae anything.  He should be the one to tell her,” Aidan suggested.

“Okay, in the mean time we can’t separate them.  So think of an excuse to keep her in his room,” Meredith said, knowing that things were quickly going from complicated to chaotic.

Mae was feeling better, she got up and put Beck’s pajama bottoms on him.  As much as she admired his nakedness, she didn’t want him to share it with everyone in the house.  Meredith and Aidan returned to the room and Meredith started fussing over her, so she returned to bed.

“While we wait for answers, it would be best if you stayed here with Beck.  I will go get Gemma, she can keep you company.  There is also a sizable library if you would to like something to read,” Meredith suggested.

Mae noticed the stack of Sudoku books sitting on the nightstand.  “I’ll just do some of Beck’s Sudoku puzzles.  If you don’t mind, can you bring up the laptops and get me some more comfortable clothes?  Is he going to be okay?” she asked.  Beck looked like death, which worried her.

“As long as he is not losing heat.  Rest is all he needs for now,” Meredith answered.

“Aidan, Gemma, and I are going to hang out down the hall in the game room for the rest of the day.  That way if you need us, we’ll be within earshot.”  Meredith didn’t want to be far from Beck, in case he went into shock.  Besides, the stairs were becoming a real pain.

Aidan handed Mae some of Beck’s puzzle books and a pencil.  “Gemma and I will get the things you might need and bring them to you in a bit.”

“Thank you,” was all Mae could think to say as they left the room.  She looked down at Beck lying beside her and reached out to touch his arm, checking to see if he was still warm.

It was not long before Aidan and Gemma showed up with their arms full of stuff.  They pulled a small table and a couple of chairs to Mae’s side of the bed.  Gemma handed her Beck’s plaid pajama bottoms and t-shirt to put on, causing Mae to blush knowing she was busted for taking his clothes.  She also had Mae’s toiletry bag and a stack of magazines.  Aidan set the laptop Beck gave Mae on the table and Beck’s laptop on his nightstand, then sat in one of the chairs while Gemma helped Mae change in the bathroom.

“Only you Mae could manage to get stuck in bed with a sexy beast like Beck.  And by the way, you look adorable in his PJ’s,” Gemma smiled as she finished helping Mae change.

“Guilty as charged…I stole his clothes,” she admitted to Gemma.

“You like him don’t you?”  It was more of an accusation than a question.

“I’m pleading the fifth, I don’t want to implicate myself in something that is doomed to fail.  Plus I’m not sure how he feels about me.  One minute we connect and the next he’s cold and aloof.  It’s all very confusing,” she confided to Gemma.

“Mae, just be yourself.  Really what’s not to love?” she said, giving Mae a big hug.

Mae settled back down next to Beck and slowly drifted to sleep.  When Mae woke up, Beck was snuggled against her back with his arm wrapped around her.  She was glad to know he was well enough to move across the bed.

“Every time I pass out, I find us in bed together.  I could get used to that,” Beck whispered, letting her know he was awake.

She wrapped her arms around his.  “Every time you pass out, it scares the life out of me.  I will never get used to that,” she whispered back.

They lay there for a moment then Beck sat up.  “I do not feel well and I need to go to the bathroom,” he said urgently.

“AIDAN!”  Mae yelled from the bed, glad that they thought to leave the doors open so she could be heard.  Beck just stared at her, not expecting what came next, a stampede of people running down the hallway.

“Wow!  That was quick… No emergency, Beck just needed help going to the little boy’s room,” Mae announced to Aidan, Gemma, and Meredith as they stood there ready to stave off the next crisis.  Meredith and Gemma sat in the chairs by the bed, while Aidan helped Beck into the bathroom.

“I hope you just need to wee, because I’m getting tired of carrying your ass back to bed when you pass out,” Aidan said sarcastically, helping Beck stand up in front of the toilet.