Perspective Shifts

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Jessy's little tail wagged as she was brought closer to the toy, and shoved it in her mouth with excitement. Boris' word however, made her look at him, and with a guilty expression she carefully pulled the toy away. It was partly covered in spit now... Her little expression said "oops" and she tried to rub it clean on her clothing. It worked a bit, and then she only stuck a small part of a toy paw in her mouth, as she also cuddled it.
Faolan had approached and sat next to her as she lovingly held the toy. She smiled as he patted her head and gave her a soft scratch behind her ear. He could see that she was getting tired, and not only because she was looking at the blankets. He asked Boris in wolf, "May I?" As he gestured to let her lay on said blankets, to curl up and sleep.

-----

Addie listened with a sympathetic smile, and gave Rita some time to voice her concerns. "Hey, don't worry... I'd bet that's what any first-time mum thinks." He said kindly. He'd have gone over to place a hand on her shoulder, but couldn't under the circumstances. "Besides, you can learn about it. There are tons of magazines and even online advice about this sort of thing. I should know, I designed one." He added sagely.

"The most important thing any baby needs is to know that someone cares and will protect her. The rest is just technical stuff. Like changing an engine's oil, or keeping the tank full." He hoped that his comparison would shed some light for her, even though he knew that babies were more effort than engines. Still, he had to try, right?
 
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Boris stood as Faolan moved closer, and lowered his nose to touch Jessy on the forehead. He didn't mind the spit on his toy, since it could always be cleaned, but he was glad she hadn't ripped it at all. If the fabric tore, it would be a lot harder to fix than a little bit of slobber.
He inclined his head at Faolan's request and padded onto the blankets, to arrange them ready for Jessy. As long as Rita was away, he would stick close to Jessy, even if she was sleeping. If Faolan didn't object, he intended to lie down here beside Jessy while she rested. To him, this seemed perfectly natural; it was something wolves did all the time when their young were sleeping.

-----

Thinking about it, Rita realised that having a child – by adoption or otherwise – was always going to be a daunting prospect. Mothers normally had nine months to prepare themselves, but she was a quick study and Jessy needed her. There would as he said be other mothers online, discussion groups and the like, and that should be enough of a support network. The internet was indeed useful, especially when you couldn't afford to let anyone see your daughter's tail.

She managed a smile at the mention of him designing a website about this stuff. "You do have a cool job," she admitted. Nursing, at least in its current form, was not quite what she had expected it to be. It was more bureaucracy than helping people. She hesitated slightly, not sure of herself, and then added, "Maybe you could help me with her?" She scratched her nose. "I mean, as a friend. I'm going to… need someone." It might not be exactly traditional, but Jessy could do with a father figure as well.
 
"There we go," Faolan said fondly as he set little Jessy next to Boris, "a nice fluffy pillow fer the little lass." and winked at the wolf. Jessy wholeheartedly agreed, by curling up against him, with her little hand over her nose, and the toy clutched close to her. It wasn't a moment, and she was sleeping soundly.

Faolan made eye contact with Boris, "Canae believe how cute she is." He commented to him in wolf. He looked at her again, and as his thoughts moseyed about, one of those thoughts touched the subject of Joe and Matt's future...

As things were, they weren't having the smoothest of starts. This troubled him, and not because he thought that Matt was weak or that his grandaughter deserved someone "better" as the lad had said. They were meant for each other, and goodness knew that with what they had been through together, it proved it only more. He wanted to help them in some way.

His mouth twitched taut as he thought about something. An old memory was waking up, reminding him that there was something he could do to at least make other male "challengers" less of a problem. There was determination in his eyes as he looked again at Boris.
"I quickly have to go. You'll protect her?" He asked again in wolf, and gestured with his eyes to the sleeping Jessy. When he got up to leave, he turned his head back and grinned, "I'll bring some biscuits too."

-----

Addie nodded happily, "I do... Interesting customers too." and grinned.
His eyes lit up as she asked him for help with Jessy, "Of course! It would be my pleasure." He said, and inclined his head like a gentleman with his last words.

Then he gave a chuckle, "I'll do my best, at least."
 
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Boris curled up in the bed around Jessy, his fur acting as a blanket as well as pillows. He agreed with Faolan that she was very cute, although the part of his mind that handled 'cuteness' was rather limited in wolf form and all he really knew was that she was a pup and he was fond of her. He made a soft rumbling sound deep in his chest. Nobody came in this room without his permission at the best of times, and with Jessy here, he'd protect his territory even more fiercely. That, and the entire staff of the clinic would resist violent incursion if anything happened. She would be safe with him.

He looked up at Faolan's sudden announcement that he had to leave, but his gaze was accepting. His tail wagged slightly at the mention of biscuits, but he kept the reaction small. He didn't want to wake Jessy up. "If… you see Rita…" he paused, trying to get his thoughts in order. It was hard not to get sidetracked for him, and thinking of absent people was especially likely to derail him into a little world or memories of them. He blinked. "Tell her… I take good care."

-----

Rita couldn't help a little laugh at the mention of interesting customers, and covered her mouth with her hand, glancing around nervously. Nobody was looking at them. "I think I win on that front." In the medical profession you really did see it all, and some people came in with the most bizarre injuries.

His willingness to help also surprised her, and she reflexively reached across the table and grabbed his hand. "Thank you." She had been very much afraid of being alone and of failing Jessy, but having someone to at least talk to about it made her feel a lot better. The fact that he had functioning internal organs was also a plus. There was a good chance that society would be slow to accept Jessy, and having a vampire for a mother wasn't going to do her many favours. At least Addie could link her in to the werewolf community, where she might be more at home.
 
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"Will do, Boris." Faolan assured him, and left the room. He had to find Rami to ask for a lift and also wanted to check up on the younger ones. A small smile quickly brushed his face as he thought about age and how different things had become since the past. How, even if one thought that you had all the variety of future paths figured out, life found a way to just not care and show you paths that you had missed.

When he was close to Joe's room, he stood still for a moment just outside the door. He wanted to give Matt time to sense and recognize his smell before entering, not that the old wolf didn't have any right to be there. It was just a show of acceptance and respect of their being together.

"How's she doing?" he asked quietly as he approached them, and stood to be in Matt's field of vision. He could see from her sleeping form that she was doing better, and the monitors mirrored that. Apart from occasional sudden jolts of her arms or body, she was fine.

He gave a laboured sigh as the sight reminded him of how special Joe was to him, and also to Matt. If only he had been home when Marshall had arrived... he could have maybe prevented Joe being taken away. The details weren't important, and he knew that Matt would have done what he thought was best under the circumstances. "I'm going out on a quick errant." he told Matt, "I'll be back again as soon as I can." he then turned for the door, but before leaving he added, "Matthew?... Thank you for bringing her back, for saving her." he meant it in more ways than one.

-----

Addie's chuckle was quite an infectious one, as he thought about all the interesting people she probably would meet as a nurse. He scratched the side of his nose, "I... think you might be right. Are injuries really as bad and weird as they show on the Net?" he asked humorously.

Her grabbing his hand surprised him, but he didn't shy away from it. He noticed though that a few eyes started wandering their way, so he changed their position to that of a business shake for cover. "You're welcome. Anything for a friend." Addie meant it, and not just as an audible explanation of their relationship to stop anyone getting weird thoughts. He did consider her a friend, odd quirks and foot-in-mouth moments included.
 
Matt barely shifted his position as Faolan entered, although he was very aware of the older werewolf's presence. He had to remind himself repeatedly that Joe's grandfather was not a threat. Since Joe had gone back to sleep, he'd grown gradually more and more aware of his surroundings, as if there could be an attack at any minute. They had caught Marshall… but the guy was an alpha, and it was unlikely that his disappearance would go unnoticed. If anyone was trying to find him, they could still come for Joe. And she still didn't have her trinket.

"She's ok," he told Faolan in a low voice. Obviously she had lost consciousness, but the monitors were all showing stable vitals. She wasn't in any immediate danger, or at least none that Matt could see. He had laid her back down on the pillows, but not let go of her hand. He thought perhaps he would never be ready to let go of her hand again.

He flinched a little at Faolan's thanks, and tore his eyes away from her to look round at him. "I lost her." His voice was low, flat and hollow. Bringing her back was the least he could do to make up for his failure to protect her in the first place. Faolan thanking him just reminded him again that if he'd been looking out for her in the first place, if he'd got back up and fought for her, or accepted that he couldn't win and run at the start, he could have prevented all of this. But he'd let the need to maintain his ego get in the way, and she'd paid the price.

-----

"Uh…" Rita tried to think back through the noteworthy injuries that had come into the clinic. "Amongst our kinds, probably worse, although we of course see a lot of serious trauma along with the crazy stuff." She laughed a little as various memories came to her. "But I'm afraid people really do put the strangest things up their… you know."

Rita pulled her hand back as she realised that it probably wasn't okay to breach the touch barrier with a werewolf, for a number of reasons. She didn't want anyone else in here to get the wrong idea, although a little angry part of her said that if she wanted to be out with a wolf and hold his hand then that was her business. But her parents had gone up against that prejudice and, in the end, it had killed them both. She restricted herself to smiling politely at him, and ducked her head to finish her coffee.
 
Faolan hesitated for a small moment, but then looked at Matt and held the eye contact, "Only for a moment, lad, and you didn't hesitate to get her back." his voice was firm but still thankful. He then continued out of the room and went to look for Rami.

-----

Addie pulled his mouth skew, but his eyes were almost laughing. People could get up to the weirdest things. Heck knew why.

He noticed her reaction, and also took a quiet sip of his drink. As he did he checked the room secretly, and noticed nothing strange. Good. Then an item got added to the list in his head, along with going shopping for Jessy and explaining the wonders of technology to Rita: Find a better and less hostile place to have coffee. His eyes squinted a little as he thought about it. There should be someplace somewhere that was like that, but finding it would most likely be tricky. It would be kept a big secret. Hmm.

Then a triumphant smile appeared on his face as he thought of who he could ask about it... yes, the person could surely point him in the right direction. If not, then perhaps that person's wife could.

Realising he still had the smile on his face, he made sure that he wasn't busy staring at something inappropriate or questionable. Didn't look like it. Then he turned his attention to Rita, "This is nice." he commented, and wasn't entirely sure of why he said it, other than stating the obvious.
 
Matt turned his attention back to Joe, and there were still visible marks of what she'd been through on her body. He might have lost her only for a short while, but it had almost been long enough to kill her. His mind wandered again as Faolan left, and several times it flashed back to the moment he'd caught sight of her in the bottom of that pit, impaled on spikes. Each time, his stomach dropped like a stone. If that was what losing her for 'a moment' did, then he'd never let her out of his sight again.

-----

Rita fiddled with her empty mug and watched Addie out of the top of her eyes, peering through her lashes. He was checking the room again, although he tried not to let it show. She bit the inside of her lip. They couldn't even go out for coffee here, this close to a clinic which openly accepted all sorts. If they were going to be friends, would it have to be in private? She didn't mind, only this coffee outing was somehow… really nice.

His smile took her by surprise and she raised her head, returning the smile for a moment before realising it wasn't actually at her… she lowered her eyes again hurriedly, but glanced back up repeatedly until he eventually seemed to notice her, and spoke. A little smile played over her face, but she unconsciously glanced around the room again before she replied. Nobody was even looking their way. "It is," she agreed, but not loudly enough to attract attention. "Thank you for suggesting it."
 
Rami didn't need any explanation from Faolan for borrowing his car, and as soon as he could, he drove to his destination. It would take a while, but if the person could help him then it would definitely be worth it.

Joe had been there just a few days ago, and as Faolan stopped in the driveway he sat thinking for a moment. He hadn't exactly dealt with the effects that Joe's kidnapping had had on him, or the added effects of when they finally found her and the state she had been in. What Marshall had done to her, it was unforgivable...

A polite tap on the window brought him back to reality, and as he looked up he saw Rhonwyn standing next to the car and she was kindly smiling at him. He smiled bashfully and got out of the car, "Hello, Rhonwyn..." he greeted her, at a sudden loss for words. Something about him seemed to have her worried, but she gave him a warm smile.
"It's good to see you again, Faolan." then concern clouded her face, "Let's get you inside. I'll make you some nice tea and we can talk." she said knowingly, and Faolan merely smiled wryly and nodded. He was feeling somewhat lightheaded.

-----

A charming smile showed on Addie's face, "We should definitely do this more often." he suggested. "Though I'll see if there might be a... friendlier place." the words had been spoken a little softer, and only for Rita to hear. Then an idea came to him.

"You know what? Next time we should take Jessy to the park or something. Maybe even to Faolan's place and you can bring Boris. We can make a nice outing of it too." he mused. After all, Faolan also had coffee at his house, not to mention the lovely pies and other assorted goods.
 
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Matt had more or less settled after Faolan left, and then Mel was back. He didn't ask where she'd been, mostly because he really didn't care. They didn't speak for about five minutes, and she was neither moving nor breathing. He could see his own reflection in some of the monitors, but of course there was no sign of her behind him. If not for the smell, he could have convinced himself that she wasn't really there at all.

Her presence, after he'd got used to it, was oddly comforting. Mel wasn't a sentimental person, but he knew for a fact that if anyone were to come in here with a mind to hurting Joe, they'd deeply regret crossing her. He let his guard down by degrees, and by the time she finally said anything, he was almost relaxed.

"I've been thinking," she said, and her tone was slightly too innocent for his liking. "I'm not sure you should see Marshall again." He didn't bother to look round, or even to reply. He had a duty to Joe, and that was to make Marshall suffer for what he'd done to her. Besides, with the memory of finding her fresh in his mind, he might even enjoy it. "He will pay, but Matthew… let me do it?" The questioning note in her voice surprised him, and he did turn to look at her. She looked almost to be pleading. "I know you think Joe wants you to stand up for her, but trust me – she won't like what it does to you…"


------

Rita was a little taken aback with Addie's suggestion that they do this again, especially since it'd earned them nothing but hostility from the people around them. She tried to tuck her hair back behind her ear, even though it was already there, and glanced sideways for a moment before answering. "There must be somewhere… even…" she dropped her voice still further, "Even human coffee shops would be less of a problem. I'm sorry I suggested here." Truth be told she had never come in here with anyone before and she had just assumed that since both werewolves and vampires were accepted, there would be no problem with both together. In retrospect that had been a foolish assumption.


A smile broke across her face again at his suggestion of going to the park, and she nodded enthusiastically, forgetting herself for a moment. "That would be lovely, and we could take a picnic…" Vampires didn't tend to enjoy the outdoors much, probably because their skin burned so easily, but the benefits of Mediterranean heritage included a higher tolerance of sunlight. "Boris would enjoy it too, he doesn't get out much, and he'd be really easy to pass off as a dog."
 
The expression on Rhonwyn's face was that of a mixture of surprise, horror and disbelief. She still had the cup in one hand and saucer in the other, but she never even took a sip once Faolan started explaining to her what situation his grandaughter and Matt was in. He had told her what had happened, and she had no words.

Faolan was hunched over with his hands folded and his elbows resting on his knees as he sat. After he was done explaining, he was silent and was looking at the floor. Rhonwyn's eyes blinked a few times, and focused again on him. She set down the now-cold tea and went to sit next to the old wolf, but waited a bit before speaking. Here eyes were filled with sadness as they scanned over his face.
"I'm so sorry, Faolan." she said quietly.
His eyes closed and he swallowed hard on a lump in his throat. "I don't want that to happen to her again." he said hoarsely, "There has to be a way to keep males like Marshall away... without spending your whole life hiding away."

There was silence in the room then as she ran the information through her mind. With Joe's changes she would be a sought-after female. Matt wouldn't be strong enough to keep any challengers away, at least not from what little she knew of him. The whole "challenge" thing was such an annoyance really, she thought. Humans didn't do it, and even though two men might compete for the same woman, once in a relationship that would be that.
If Joe and Matt were in a pack, things might have been different but that would then present other problems...

No. The solution would be make her less "sought-after". A tiny smile played on her face.
"I might have a solution." Rhonwyn announced, and Faolan's head lifted as he looked her way.
"It's a bit of a double-edged sword, but knowing your family I don't think it should cut as deep." she started to explain, and dug around through many trays, cupboards and a large cabinet with numerous small drawers.
Confusion crossed Faolan's face as he tried to figure out what she meant. Once she found what she was looking for, she came to once again sit where her cup and saucer was. She gave Faolan a decisive look from across the small coffee table.
"Honour." she said. "We 'remove' it from them, and that way they will not be bothered. Unfortunately this means that apart from legitimately buying a house or any property from an established and "certified" retailer, they will not be eligible to contest for certain types of territories."
The old wolf nodded in understanding. This could work, just maybe. Apart from werewolf 'traditions', and then only some of them, Joe wasn't one who was too bothered with many of them, like having to belong to a pack. If she ever was bothered with these kinds of things then she probably never would have given Matt a chance at being with her.
Rhonwyn smiled, "I will need to see them, and I don't know how you feel about tattoos but they are both going to get a small one, just below the ear." she cautioned, but with a sly smile.
Faolan returned it and chuckled, "A tattoo is the last thing I would be worried about."
"Good." she replied, and then asked a little more hesitantly, "Are you sure, though, that their devotion to each other is for life? ... Regaining any honour from this kind of thing is-"
"Oh I'm sure, my dear." he reassured her, "More than anything."

-----

"That's okay," Addie said kindly, "It's close and convenient, right?" and shrugged lightly.

Seeing her excitement brought a smile to his face, and the idea of a picnic sounded great, "Picnic it is, then." and as he said so, his mind brought up an amusing image of Boris playing 'dog' in the park.
"Boris doesn't eat too much right? Or chases stray cats?" he joked, "We could even go when there aren't too many, uh, 'people' around, at least the first time to see how things go."
 
"What exactly are you suggesting is going to happen to me?" The look on Mel's face was unsettling Matt. He had never known her to suggest not torturing and killing anyone before, except perhaps so there would be more fun for her personally. This didn't feel like one of those times. This felt very much like new ground.

She crossed to the chair Faolan had been sitting in, sat and crossed her legs before she answered him. He was sure he'd never seen her looking so calm or… open before. "She loves you, Matthew," she said matter-of-factly. He shook his head, but she ignored him and ploughed on. "Any fool can see it but you. There are werewolves out there who are everything you think she wants you to be, and she chose you."
Mel spread her hands on her knees and her mouth twisted a little. She looked as though she had tasted something bitter. "I'd like to pretend I've no idea why that is, but I can tell you it's definitely not because you're a savage torturer. Don't become that. He'll get what's coming to him, and I'll let her take her turn if she wants it, but you stay away from him. Please."

His answer was a shake of his head, and he glanced back at Joe before he replied in a low growl. "I have to protect her now. I have to do this. And if you think I'm letting you shut me out and ship her back to that sick bastard alone, you are very, very much mistaken."

-----

"Well, yes," Rita agreed, "And I do come in here all the time and they're very accepting, staff and clientèle alike." Of course, she wasn't normally breaking the great taboo when she wandered in here for a coffee on her break.

She drifted in her head to a little sunny place with Addie and Jessy and Boris, running free. It seemed perfect, in every detail. Her imaginings almost made her miss Addie's questions about Boris, but she dragged herself back from the reverie to consider them. "Uhm…" In truth Boris had never really seemed to want to leave the clinic before, so she had no idea whether he'd chase a cat. "Well, he doesn't eat much." Would he go racing off and barking at everything that moved? Probably. But he had always responded when she whistled, in the past. "He won't run off too far. He'll stick with me."
 
Rhonwyn spent some more time talking with Faolan, asking questions about Joe and how she was handling things, and also asked about Matt. Their relationship was an interesting one to her, and it became more so as Faolan and she chatted. She gave no judgement, but did comment on how special she thought it was.

"So... they met as opposite species, and now they're together." she summarised in a tiny nutshell. she had boiled some more tea and was enjoying another cup of it. Her face held some puzzlement and Faolan saw it clearly. She gave a very ladylike chuckle when she noticed him seeing the look on her face, "Sorry... it's just, well, he must be something special. If he was with her through the time of that "Voice" thing, and not to mention her temper," she looked at him knowingly - she'd also gone through a few fires with his late wife's temper, "and he still wants to be with her..." she trailed off in thought.

"Then again, he reminds me of you, you know." she said as she took a sip. Faolan tilted his head quizzically.
"How so?"
"Well." she said and arched an eyebrow, "A gentle old soul like you, head over heals for the dangerous and fiery female from Glasgow? I never could figure out how you got her father's permission to court and marry her." there was a gentleness to her voice now.
Faolan rubbed the back of his neck bashfully, "Oh aye, that was definitely a nerve-wracking day." and laughed at the memory. "Fer one, I had to survive a 'friendly tumble' with each o' her brothers..." not that the 'tumbles' were anything but 'friendly'. He then gave a deep sigh as he relived the memory, but with fondness.
"As I remember she never did do anything to show encouragement or tell them to tune it down..."
"Aye, she didn't. It was her way've testing me determination she told me afterwards, and she dinnae want to question me strength. Then again she never did stop telling or showing me how much she had appreciated it." he pointed out. "Little Joenie is a lot like her nana, and she dearly loves that lad. He's a good lad too."

-----

The smile on Addie's face turned into a slow grin. "Should be a fun time then." Although very possibly not for any cats, ducks, squirrels or any other smaller-than-Boris creatures that might be present that day.
 
"List… do we have a list?" Shopping had never been Rita's forte, but she knew some things were usual, such as coming out with the vaguest of ideas of what you were supposed to be buying. They had woken Jessy and brought her along for the trip, although Boris had stayed behind since he wouldn't be allowed in most shops anyway. He had whined when Rita had taken Jessy away from him.

The first priority in Rita's mind was finding some way of disguising Jessy's rather unique characteristics, because wrapping her in a blanket was all very well for the short term, but she couldn't exactly run around like that and taking it off would reveal her tail. "What does she need? Let's start with the really basic stuff. Clothes. Food. Nappies." She would happily buy Jessy toys as well, especially after seeing how cute she looked curled up with Boris's dog, but they weren't exactly essentials. She made a mental note that a car seat was. Travelling with a toddler on someone's lap wasn't safe.

---------

Joe had been out for a very long time, and in spite of her stable vitals, Matt was growing worried. She had screamed, woken up and not spoken a word to him, and then she'd kissed him and passed out again. Physically she was fine, but he'd seen almost nothing of her human mind… what would he do if Marshall had somehow broken her? Those doubts circled in his head as he sat with her. Mel was still present, but silent and not looking at him. He had a strange feeling she was angry with him for wanting to hurt Marshall.

"Please wake up, Joe," he said quietly. "Please. I will be right here for you as long as your heart keeps beating, but I'm going crazy." Her hand's grip on his had loosened, or possibly he had just grown used to it, but there was no sign left that she had any idea he was there. She was in a deep sleep. Her muscles twitched occasionally, but that was all. He was beginning to wonder if her apparent consciousness before could have been just muscle spasms… but she had kissed him. Or… had he kissed her? Things were blurring in his memory. He was tired, but unable to sleep, and Mel's silver bangle had started to burn his wrist. This balancing act couldn't go on forever, but he was determined to keep it up until she woke.
 
"Yup, list is right here." Addie assured Rita, and he indeed had it written on a folded piece of paper. He had suggested that they could use his car, and even though it didn't have any baby seats, it did have seat belts. "Oh, before I forget.." he said, and handed Rita a shopping bag, which had a single item in it. "I saw it on the way here and thought that it would be a perfect disguise for Jessy." Inside was a wolf onesie outfit, with a tail and everything. He grinned as he anticipated Rita's reaction. Sure, it might seem like a ridiculous idea, but sometimes the best hiding place was in plain sight.

-----

"Ahem," Faolan cleared his throat as he stood by the door, and as he approached the bed he looked at Matt with something obviously on his mind. "May I have a word with ye, lad?" he asked politely, though he didn't mind Mel also being in the room and in fact, she could give her opinion too. He just needed to show that this was important, what he wanted to talk to Matt about.
"I spoke to Rhonwyn - the lady Joe had gone to, and she suggested something that might help you both." he said calmly, and looked at Joe's sleeping form. He noticed how very calm she looked, and that her wounds were starting to look better too. He gave a calm sigh then, and looking at Matt he explained the idea to the lad. With both their honour 'removed' they would be able to have a more peaceful life as far as werewolf traditions were concerned, and most importantly there would be less challengers, if any. Some werewolves were about gaining honour more than anything, no matter how good a female's traits might be. He also explained about how it would affect territory business, but that they wouldn't have to worry about it.

"There's no shame in taking the option, and I know that Joenie cares about you more than anything. Before you wonder why she had still let you take Marshall's challenge, it wasn't because of not wanting to lose her honour or anything. She knew that your life wasn't in danger and that you deserved a chance to take a part in it. She was respecting your decision, instead of just assuming that you couldn't take it. To a werewolf, that means a lot." he added just in case. "I doubt she would have let the bastard go too far anyway, and if he wouldn't stop then she would have made him regret doing so." His face looked a little perplexed, and he turned to Mel. He knew that werewolf traditions didn't always make sense to non-werewolves, and explaining it in a way that others could get the right meaning was sometimes tricky. "Am I explaining this right? Ye get my meaning?" he asked, and hoped that with her knowledge, she could straighten any confusion or misunderstanding on Matt's part.

Somewhere during their conversation, Joe had begun to stir, little by little. Her human mind heard bits of her grandfather's voice, his pet name for her coming through clearly. Marshall's name also triggered some events, and her human mind shrank back again. She was definitely beginning to wake though, and her eyelids moved to slowly begin opening against the bright room light.
 
Rita opened the bag and couldn't contain a laugh at what she found inside. It seemed entirely insane, but it might just work… at very least people wouldn't be able to see Jessy's tail with the onesie covering it. If they were lucky, her other slightly canine characteristics would just blend with her costume, and nobody would give them a second thought. "Good thinking," she managed between chuckles. "And with the list, too. I'd be all at sea on my own." She shifted Jessy a little on her lap to let her peer into the bag. "Look what Addie bought you!" she said enthusiastically, beaming down at the little girl. "Shall we try it on?"

-----

Matt listened calmly to what Faolan had to say, and he knew that for him at least it was the perfect solution to their problem… not to compete as wolves, not to be bound by their rules. Joe would be his, and his alone – nobody else would want her. And as far as he was concerned, this was no problem at all because she would never need anyone else, and no amount of dishonour would change how he felt about her. But…

"This isn't what she wants," he objected. She might go along with it, for him, but in her heart he was sure she'd dream of a world where he was strong enough to fight for her on werewolf terms, to make her his own without taking away her standing amongst her own kind. "And I can't let her do it." He knew that without taking this option, he would have to be able to protect her from things like Marshall, but then what Marshall had done hadn't been within any werewolf rules that he knew of. "I'll find a way to be strong enough. I beat Marshall in the end." He turned all of his attention back to her. "I won't make you do this." It was then that he noticed the little signs of her stirring.

Mel was about to interject and try to get some sense into Matt, but Joe's beginning to wake derailed her, and she just watched as he changed gears. In the blink of an eye the issue of honour and even the presence of Faolan in the room was forgotten. Everything in the world suddenly melted away and there was only his Joe, waking up, coming back to him. He smiled a little, anxiously, his eyes fixed on her face. This time, perhaps her human mind would wake too. Maybe she really was going to be all right, and perhaps she would even choose to stay with him after all he'd done.

Both of his hands clasped hers and he leant over her slightly, though not enough to startle her if she opened her eyes. "Joe?" He wanted so badly to hug her again, but he was cautious. "I'm still right here, just like I said. You're ok."
 
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Addie's grin was joined by his eyes also smiling, and he was in fact very curious to see how Jessy would look in them. He gave a small shrug about the list, "I kind of winged it here and there, but it should cover the basics." he confessed.
Rita's excitement rubbed off on little Jessy even before she knew what all the excitement was about. Her puppy ears perked forward and her little hands groped at the bag, and she let out a little blurb. She saw something grey and white and fluffy, and even that was enough to get her excited, and she let out a little high-pitched laugh and bounced in Rita's grip. She laughed even more delightedly when Rita suggested that she try it on, and her tiny cheeks puffed up as she gave a little grin.

-----

Faolan gave a disheartened sigh as Matt refused his offer. What would Matt suggest, then? He thought.
Matt's resolve to become stronger surprised him. He looked up to see if he had just heard right, and by the look in the lad's eyes, he did. This somehow gave the old wolf some hope, and the lad was right - he did beat that bastard in the end. He shifted his weight as he contemplated this, and nodded as a small smirk formed on his mouth. "That ye did." he said with a hint of admiration. He too then noticed that Joe was waking up, and like Matt, his attention immediately focused on her.

Joe's hand tightened around his, and when her eyes were finally open, they were still wolf-like and with the 'eye liners' as they blinked at him to focus. Her mind swam against the current of chaos, but hearing Matt's voice and what he said gave both parts of her mind enough reassurance. The wolf part made way for the human part to get through, and her eyes' colour changed from cyan to a more blue as she immediately pushed up and grabbed him in a hug. Her wounds still stung, especially the ones from being impaled, but she didn't care. As she held him, her emotions rose and the wolf part of her did it's best to keep the harmful ones that triggered certain memories at bay. This caused her body to randomly twitch as her features didn't know to stay human or wolf. She was still wolf-like as she was before, and for a moment the more wolf like ones looked to be expanding, but then stopped and reversed a little.

This also made it a little hard for her to talk, and a whine escaped from her throat as she hoarsely and in broken English fought to get words out. Her grip became tighter too, "I'm... 'm srry, M'tt." she whispered, "Th'fight... wa'td t'st-stop it." her chest expanded jaggedly as she took coarse breaths, and another soft whine could be heard.
She hadn't heard about the honour thing, but she could sense that something was on Matt's mind. For a moment she thought that he could be mad at her about the fight, and she then remembered that his arm had been badly broken. Her head turned to have her nose and cheek touching the nape of his neck. "'rr, arr you 'lright?" she asked, her voice still broken but certainly sounding more human.
 
Rita shrugged at Addie's admission of 'winging it'… what else could they do when they knew so little about how this was supposed to go? She was pretty much going to be winging parenthood in its entirety until she had time to sit down and try to learn somehow.

She lifted the wolf onesie out of the bag and glanced at Jessy – how on earth was a person with only two hands supposed to get a kid into one of these things? She could certainly lift Jessy's weight one-handed, but probably not with adequate support to keep her from getting hurt. She hesitated, and then held the onesie out towards Addie. "You hold this, I'll lift her and we'll try to get it on?" This all seemed very undignified and she was sure it was meant to be a one-man job, only probably not in the front seat of a parked car.

-----

Matt's arms folded around Joe again and his heartbeat, which had been stuttering and faltering for hours, set up a strong, quick rhythm. At the same moment there was a sharp burning sensation in his wrist, and he fumbled to get Mel's silver bangle off. He didn't pull away from Joe, but tossed it sideways to land on the floor. It seemed that his body was finally making its mind up about what side of the species divide he wanted to stay on, and a part of him was glad. At least it had made the only sensible choice and joined Joe in being a werewolf. On the other hand, if he was settling into one species then the advantages he'd enjoyed from the balance would be fading, and that meant Faolan's offer was possibly the only way he could keep her safe… and still keep her his own.

He kept one arm tight around her waist, to help support her, but pulled away from the hug just a little at her words, enough to look into her face. His free hand reached to tilt her chin so that he could look her in the eyes, and to even his slight surprise, his own had filled with tears. "Don't apologise," he said in a tiny voice. "Please. I'm fine." His arm and ribs had set oddly, so that wasn't entirely true, but Rita could correct that quite easily and it was by no means the most important thing here. "I'm so, so sorry." With the words, his fingers brushed her cheek, his eyes never leaving hers. "I came as soon as I could, but…" He swallowed hard. He was terrified of the prospect that she would come to her senses and leave him, but nevertheless he had to know. He took a deep breath, steeling himself, and then plunged on.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you." In truth 'sorry' didn't begin to express how he felt about that, but the look in his eyes expressed it better than words could in any case. "And I'll understand if you'd rather spend your life with someone who can make you feel safe again." Not that understanding would make it any easier to accept, but he would handle it, somehow. "But I want you to know that, as long you'll allow me, I will always be here for you. I will never leave you, I will never hurt you, and I will give everything I have to make sure that nobody ever harms you again." He ducked his head and lowered his voice to add, "Even if I'm not your choice any more."
 
"Oh, uh, sure!" Addie said and shifted his position to hold the onsie open, after sliding the front zipper open. Jessy, in her excitement, wasn't making things much easier as she wiggled her arms and legs about and giggling. Addie couldn't help but chuckle at her antics, "Oh, so we're a little clown now, eh?" he joked with her, sending her in more little giggle-fits. Then, of course there were her little hands, groping at the outfit and Addie had to try and gently get them off. He gave a bemused look at Rita, and wondered to himself how any parent got a small child dressed.

-----

Joe listened quietly as Matt spoke, pleased to hear his voice but also still concerned at the tone of it. She knew there was something bothering him, and both sides of her wanted to know what it was. Her eyes jumped from one side to the other as they searched his for a possible clue, or some other sign of his feelings. Her concern played on her face a little as her eye brows twitched slightly.

Sadness showed in her eyes as Matt apologised, as she saw the expressions in his. He'd done his best under the circumstances, and she understood how he must have felt after losing. Why had she even let that silly challenge happen? Then as he talked about her possibly getting someone else who could better protect her, a somewhat violent emotion of rebellion flared inside her - but she only took a deeper breath to still herself and swallowed. She could sense he wasn't done talking. The rest of his words made her calm again, and her human mind helped her wolf side understand them better. He wasn't pushing her away, and he wasn't doubting her loyalty. It was his way of showing the amount of care and love that he had for her. He'd never leave her unless she wanted him to.

Both her sides wanted him to be clear on that.

Now it was her turn to gently lift his chin, and she looked him square in the eyes. They were both fierce, but at the same time filled with care and devotion towards him. They were also back to their 'normal' colours: blue on the left, and cyan on the right. "You'll alwayss be my choice." she said, slow and carefully as both her sides wanted to say it on the same time. She also smiled a little, seeing the tears in his eyes. Then she again embraced him fondly, and in a small voice that was only meant for him to hear she said what she'd been wanting to say for some time, "I love you, Matt... I always will." she swallowed again as her emotions flared.
 
The struggle to get Jessy dressed seemed impossible, and Rita started to laugh to herself at the absurdity of all this. A vampire and a werewolf, age-old enemies, had come together to tackle one problem and it was confounding them both: the problem of getting a two-year-old into an outfit. Moms had to be superheroes – it was the only possible conclusion. She tried to be stern, but the giggling made that difficult. "Come on, Jessy," she tried, "Work with us here? See if you can get your feet into the wolfie legs…" Her eyes met Addie's and despite her laughter, she looked a little worried. Left alone with Jessy, she'd never manage. This just wasn't feasible.

-----

Joe seemed to take Matt's words more calmly than he'd expected, and a little pang of worry flared in his chest that she was glad he'd accepted her right to move on from him. He would stand by his word, and he would stick around to protect her as best he could for as long as she still let him, but that didn't mean it wouldn't hurt. He had failed her, and it pained him more than anything to think of losing his chance with her so quickly. If he had one thing in his favour, it was how much he cared for her. Marshall had respected her strength and – he shuddered to think of it – her good genes, but Matt doubted the brute could ever have loved her.

When she touched his chin he almost flinched away, but he let her lift his face, and met her eyes hesitantly. Their expression surprised him, and something else stirred in his chest. Without quite meaning to he placed his hand back on her cheek. Her first words brought a flush of warm relief, and a tingling sensation. He pulled her back into his arms even as she moved to embrace him, and held her quietly. He wasn't expecting anything else to be said, but knowing that she would continue to choose to be with him was more than enough. Her next words came as he was shifting to bring them face to face, and they made him stop dead, just as his eyes found hers.

She wouldn't say that if it wasn't true, if she wasn't completely sure that it was real. Which meant… his eyes were wide. Always? It was true that he loved her now and would do so forever, but he hadn't expected her to feel the same – at least not yet. Sometimes he had dared to dream that she could come to return his love, given enough time.

His hand moved from the side of her face and his fingers slid through the hair behind her ear, and his arm tightened around her waist again, drawing her close. He paused with his nose touching the side of hers, and he didn't lower his voice as he replied, "I… love you too. So much." He'd said it already, but he couldn't be sure she'd heard it, or that it had reached her human mind. His own mind was still reeling, and somehow just replying in kind didn't seem to express everything that he felt. He nudged her nose gently with his own, and hesitated, giving her the chance to pull away. If she didn't, it was his intention to kiss her – not the way she had the last time she'd been awake, with her consciousness fading, or the first time she'd done it, fuelled by frustration and the beginnings of mania. This would be gentle, but entirely intentional. He was completely conscious of what he was doing as he curled his fingers in her hair and moved to bring his mouth to hers.
 
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