A Special Gift

by Alice Brown

  Over the next three days, Stephanie’s body continued healing, but they were still dealing with the emotional issues. She had nightmares every time she slept, but Marshall was right beside her to comfort and calm her back down each time. He never had to open the two pill bottles Dr. Carlson had left with him. As long as the medicine wasn’t being touched, he figured they were making progress.

  Time soon fell into an easy pattern. Stephanie was doing one of three things, sleeping, crying, or eating. At times when she was emotional, she refused to eat, and Marshall knew it was just the depression trying to take over. He would hold her tight and let her cry it out, calm her back down, and if he was lucky, get at least some blood in her before she fell back to sleep.

  Slowly, Marshall noted she was beginning to show signs of her old self. Day five she woke up demanding to be allowed out of bed, or she would scream. Marshall carried her over to her reading chair, where she stayed for a few hours before exhaustion took over. At this point her ribs and arm were well on their way to being healed, the leg was the only problem area.

  But for him, by day five he felt a bit stir crazy. Never had he been stuck in a small room for this long. Unfortunately, the only time he could escape was when Stephanie was sleeping. Erica would usually come and sit with her then so Marshall could at least go outside and breathe fresh air.

  The grief that she harbored in her heart over the loss of her beloved Pop Atkins seemed insurmountable. Just the thought of him would bring her to tears. Marshall continued working with her and being her rock of support. He knew it would take some time for her broken heart to heal, and that was just over losing Pop Atkins. She had crumbled when he informed her they had lost fifteen of their own in the earthquake.

  Marshall hadn’t been back to work with the team since finding the survivors, so he relied on Erica to keep him updated. All the other members had made themselves available to the local government; they were still searching for human bodies. Because he felt he needed to, he asked Kevin if his help was needed. Kevin assured him he was right where he belonged for the time being and not to worry about anything else. The underground went untouched, as if no one even wanted to figure out what to do or where to go from here.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The couple talked about the earthquake and its aftermath. Marshall informed her it would be good for her to get her emotions and feelings out in the open. He didn’t want her to bottle them up inside her. She cried. And cried some more. She often wondered how there could possibly be any more liquid in her body for her to cry out, but somehow, she seemed never to reach the end of her tears.

  And Marshall, he should be nominated for sainthood, she thought to herself. Every time she started to fall into depression, every time she cried over the loss of Pop Atkins, Marshall was there to hold her. Every time she cried over the loss of the fourteen other community members who hadn’t survived, he was there to hold and comfort her. Yes, the man deserved a medal or something, she mused.

  As they were talking one evening, he asked her if she remembered Dr. Weathers coming in to see her shortly after the disaster.

  Her face turned red from embarrassment. Certain spaces of time surrounding the earthquake and its aftermath were still a mystery to her, her brain refusing to unlock the memories. But, this was one memory that was crystal clear, even though she wished she had forgotten it. “Is he the one I yelled at?”

  Marshall found this amusing. He chuckled as he answered, “Yes, but you did a bit more than just yell, love. You actually showed your fangs to the poor guy.”

  “Fangs? No, are you sure?” she asked for confirmation because she didn’t remember a thing about that. That might be just as well, since it was very inappropriate for a vampire to show fangs to another unless inviting a fight, she thought to herself.

  Marshall was still chuckling over the memory of the incident. “Yes, and believe me, my jaw dropped to the ground when I saw it. Your mom and dad’s, too. Dr. Weathers just sat there like it was an everyday occurrence.”

  “Oh, no! Well, maybe I’ll see him again so I can apologize for being so terribly rude.”

  For some reason, Marshall found this to be very amusing. “Oh, have no fear. You will be seeing him again, love.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Oh, a certain aunt of yours has taken a liking to Dr. Weathers,” he stated in a sing-song voice. She gave him a perplexed look, so he continued, “Your Aunt Kate has been spotted sitting in the backyard swing some evenings with Dr. Weathers. They have been very cozy.”

  “Really, Aunt Kate is in love?” Her aunt had always dedicated so much of her time and devotion to the elderly village that Stephanie had wondered if she would ever find love.

  Marshall nodded his head. “I’ve spotted them myself a few times when I’ve stepped outside for some fresh air.”

  “Oh, that is wonderful! I had always hoped that Aunt Kate would find someone to love.” It was times like this when Stephanie could almost forget about the horrible nightmares that continued to plague her, and their whole community. When it was just the two of them talking like this, it seemed as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Then the memories would hit, making it impossible to forget. And Marshall was getting good at reading the emotions on her face. They could be laughing one minute, and the next he would have her crushed up against his chest while she cried.

  Her mother was also instrumental in trying to drag her out of her depression. She had walked into the bedroom one morning to tell Stephanie that she had spent enough time moping around. “Things aren’t going to fix themselves while you hide away from the world,” her mother informed her. With her leg still in a brace, walking was difficult, but not impossible. Still, her mother offered to carry her down the stairs. She stubbornly refused. Stephanie had to admit her mother was right; it was time to start figuring out how to go forward in life.

  That evening, to Marshall’s relief, she agreed readily when he asked if she would like to go outside and sit on the swing. It had hit her earlier while sitting in her mother’s office that she hadn’t been outside, breathing the fresh air, since before the earthquake.

  Once both of them were sitting comfortably, Stephanie curled up in his lap, she asked, “What happened to all of the families who were living underground? What happened to all of our elderly?”

  “Most all of the elderly are right next door, with your grandparents,” Marshall replied, cocking his head in that direction. “We have three families staying with your Aunt Jennifer and Joshua at their house, and I think there are four or five families staying here with your folks. Several more are over at Alec and Elizabeth’s house, and the team went over to my apartment and brought all of my personal belongings over here, so I think there are three families sharing my apartment. We also have quite a few vampires who were living above ground and have graciously opened their homes to the survivors, as well. So, at this point most of our vampire households have at least two or more families living in them.”

  “You know, that is the one thing that I have always loved about this society. We stick together.”

  Marshall leaned down, and she quickly found herself in a passionate kiss. He started off slow, as if he weren’t sure she was ready, but she gave him a wordless answer when she nipped his bottom lip. She had missed the passion that had been burning bright prior to the earthquake. And even though she was injured and depressed, a part of her hurt every time he kissed her forehead as if she was a sibling, or a good friend. She had wondered if he’d had a change of heart. Whatever passion he had once displayed toward her was now locked up tightly, and their relationship seemed to have gone back to just best friends. Now he was kissing her like he truly loved her. Thank God! she thought.

  She knew she was smiling as soon as he broke off the kiss. She couldn’t help it. She had kept her worries to herself, thinking there were enough other problems going on. But after that kiss, well, hopefully it meant she had nothing to worry about.


  He ran the back of his finger down her cheek. “You have no idea how happy I am just from seeing your smile,” he paused and then stated enthusiastically, “I have an idea.” His eyes twinkled with excitement.

  “I could carry you over next door. It would give you a chance to visit with some of the elderly. I know your strength won’t last long, but I think it might do you good to see them, and I know it would do them good to see you.”

  “That sounds wonderful,” she replied. Marshall stood and stuck his head in the front door to let Erica know where they would be.

  They left immediately. Marshall carried her so she could save her strength for visiting. With her leg still healing in its splint, she shouldn’t be walking on it very much anyway. Rosetta answered the door when Marshall rang the doorbell, and immediately started calling everyone together.

  Marshall carried Stephanie to the family room and placed her on the couch. For the next hour, she visited with many of their elderly. She had heard, “We were so worried about you,” so many times she lost count. Some of the elderly were still recuperating from their own injuries, but all seemed to be doing well and in good spirits. And they were all glad to see Stephanie.

  Kate and Dr. Weathers were there too, hand in hand. Stephanie smiled at her Aunt Kate. She looked genuinely happy, and Stephanie loved seeing her smile. She also knew she needed to apologize for her behavior with Dr. Weathers. The couple walked over to the couch, and Kate leaned down to give her niece a hug. “It is so good to see you up and about, Stephanie. You are looking good. I’m sorry I haven’t been over to see you, but I’ve had my hands full helping mom and Elizabeth over here,” she apologized.

  “That’s okay, Aunt Kate. I’m glad to see you’re okay.”

  “Girl, I’m great. Just busy these days.” Her face was radiant, and it was easy to see she was happy and content. The last of the O’Rourke sisters had finally found someone to settle down with.

  “Stephanie, I’m glad to see you are looking better than the last time I saw you,” Dr. Weathers said as he came over and clasped her hand. “You look like you’re healing up nicely.”

  Knowing what she had to do, and not wanting to delay it any longer, she plunged in. “I am, Dr. Weathers, thank you. I believe I owe you a huge apology for my bad behavior last time I saw you. I’ve been told I was unspeakably rude, and I’m truly sorry.”

  “My dear, you have nothing to apologize for. I promise you I haven’t given it a moment’s thought.”

  “Stephanie, what in the world did you do?” her Aunt Kate leaned over and whispered in her ear.

  “I am told I screamed in his face while showing my fangs,” Stephanie replied truthfully. She, herself, could only remember bits and pieces of that night. But she did very much remember shouting at the doctor. She remembered that he had wanted to give her a shot, and she remembered shaking uncontrollably, not knowing how to make it stop. It had made her sick to her stomach. Beyond that, everything else was a mystery.

  “No, you didn’t! I didn’t even know you had fangs,” Kate replied in shock.

  “Well, neither did anyone else. I just barely remember bits and pieces of that first night. I think I had been given something for pain earlier, and it was just wearing off.”

  Stephanie glanced over to Dr. Weathers, “But whether I was coming off medicine or not, I still must apologize for my actions. That is not my usual behavior, and my parents did raise me to have manners. I am not typically that rude, nor do I generally express that type of rage.”

  Dr. Weathers shook his head. “Don’t give it another thought. Believe me, you weren’t the only one not showing your best side that evening. Before that night was over, there was a tremendous amount of apologizing from a lot of different vamps who hadn’t shown their best side,” he finished with a grin, and Stephanie caught the doctor and Marshall holding eye contact as they both gave a small nod to each other. Hmm, wonder what that is all about. I’ll have to remember to ask Marshall about it later.

  *****

  It was wonderful to see everyone, but Stephanie felt her strength leaving her by the minute. Marshall was very closely watching her for signs that she was reaching her limits these days, and was quickly at her side. “We should get you back home so you can rest.”

  She smiled at him, nodding agreement. They had been visiting far longer than they had originally intended, and Stephanie was glad that her energy had held out this long. She bid everyone goodnight as Marshall picked her up and headed back over to her house.

  Instead of carrying her up to her room as she had anticipated, he continued up the flight of stairs to the third floor. Generally not used, her father had divided the huge area into a couple of small apartments before she was even born. Far bigger than anything downstairs, most of the time they stayed empty. Since the earthquake, Stephanie had assumed her parents had opened up the rooms for others who needed a place to stay.

  Marshall hung a left at the top of the stairs. They walked into the same apartment that Inez and Ramona had occupied just a short time ago. As Stephanie looked around, she spotted what looked like her bedroom furniture in the bedroom, and another dresser sat in the living room along with the couch, chair, and television. What was going on?

  She recognized some of Marshall’s belongings on top of the extra dresser. “Is that yours?” she inquired, still trying to make sense of everything.

  “Yes, don’t you remember I told you that your father had the team go over to my place and clear out all of my things so some of our homeless vamp families could stay there?”

  “Well, yes, but I would have thought my parents would have kept this apartment for some of the homeless families. I guess I am just surprised they are giving it to us. Do you know why?”

  “I think I do. With everything that needs to be rebuilt underground, it might be awhile before anyone is free to start building our house. These apartments have been soundproofed, so we can have a bit of privacy. According to Kevin, he wanted to make sure we had a place to live, so if the house isn’t finished by the wedding, we still have a place to call home.”

  “Are you not working right now?” It really was a dumb question once she thought about it. Marshall had been by her side day and night for the past two weeks. There is no way he could be working. You’ve managed to occupy all of his time.

  “No, that was the other thing your father and I discussed. Actually, we discussed this shortly after the earthquake. He said that you are to be my top and only priority, and I am not to worry about what is going on elsewhere.” He stopped and gave her a mischievous grin. “Besides, I wasn’t about to turn down a chance to spend some quality time alone with you.”

  “Wow, I must have really scared him,” she exclaimed, shaking her head. First he gave Marshall full authority to stay with her while she was recuperating, and now he was giving them one of the two apartments upstairs? It was still hard for her to wrap her head around.

  “Hey, baby, you okay?” Marshall had brought a finger up to her chin and tilted it upward, while staring intently into her eyes. “You seem like you were elsewhere there a minute ago.”

  “I am just surprised that dad is being this open about everything.”

  “Yes, believe me, this was all his idea. As a matter of fact, both of your parents seem fine with things. I think they have finally accepted that their little girl is grown up. They probably were just starting to get there when the earthquake happened. The way I see it, yes, they are giving us their blessing and providing us a place to live until the house is built. But at the same time they get to have you under their roof a little bit longer. Kevin seemed more concerned that our house wouldn’t be finished in time, and he wants us comfortable. I think he and Erica want you to stick close by, so I certainly wasn’t going to make waves and turn down their generous offer. Kevin even went so far as to say that if we needed more room, he would rearrange living quarters and boot whoever is staying next door out and open up the area all for us.”

 
Stephanie looked around the cozy apartment. It was more than enough to get them started. “This is more than adequate. Besides, there are a lot of families without homes right now. There is no way I could be greedy.”

  “Well, let’s just be thankful for their generosity. How about we get ready for bed?” Marshall suggested.

  She hobbled around until she found her nightshirt and then hobbled into the bathroom for a shower. When she emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, Marshall was in bed waiting for her, his hair glistening with water droplets. He must have gone downstairs and used one of the other showers, she thought.

  She sat down on the bed, and Marshall wasted little time in pulling her down and into his arms. “I have missed not being able to love on you,” he whispered as he nibbled on her ear lobe. Moving on down the side of her neck, he followed each little nibble with a sweet, soft kiss.

  Stephanie turned her head, wanting to seek his lips. She quickly took the upper hand in this kiss, plunging her tongue into his mouth, dueling with his tongue. A moment later, she grinned as she broke the kiss off. “I’ve missed you, too.”

  He gave her a mischievous grin. “You’ve missed me? But I have been right here with you for the past couple of weeks.”

  She swatted his arm, as she wound her free arm around his neck. She wasn’t finished with him. Not by a long shot. And she certainly didn’t want to talk anymore. They had talked enough over the past few weeks to last her a lifetime. As she sought out his lips once again, she thought about all the long conversations they’d had while she was recuperating. In one way it had been nice, she knew a little bit more about him, and had the time to make certain that she was in love with the man, not just in lust. Now she knew she loved Marshall Riggs more than anything.

  Before she knew what had happened, Marshall took over the kiss and had her panting within minutes.