by C. Gockel
“Why did they call him Cannonball?” Bohdi asks, and Amy deflates a little. What was she hoping for?
She sighs. “He … the baby … the meconium, it shot across the room. It was very dramatic.”
“Meconium?” One of Bohdi’s eyebrows arches.
Amy sighs again. “The first poop.”
Bohdi cracks up laughing, bending over at the waist and clutching his stomach. Had she expected a romantic moment just now? Amy rolls her eyes. All the guys had thought it was hysterical. Thor had roared, Nari had too, even upright Steve had laughed. “What is it with the Y chromosome and poop jokes?”
Straightening, Bohdi wipes an eye. “Oh, come on, it’s hilarious!”
She looks heavenward. “If you say so.” She spins around. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She walks toward the kitchen, and Bohdi follows.
“I guess so,” he says. She’s too exhausted to even fathom why he sounds tentative. Shuffling into the kitchen, she finds Steve and Beatrice eating soup. “Bath?” she says. Beatrice points to a closed door next to the mudroom where Rush is snoring. “That way. There is a kettle of boiling water by the tub. Pour it to suit your liking.”
Nodding, Amy hurries off. She hears Bohdi talking to Steve, and Beatrice, and the clink of silverware. She finds the bathing room. It has a little stove, not as grand as her memories, but it keeps the room wonderfully warm. There is a fluffy towel and clean clothes. The kettle is sitting on the stove—and there is—wonder of wonders, a tub to soak in. There is a little place to wash off like in her memories too—Japanese style—as Gullveig had called it.
She peels off her clothes and rinses off the grime. In the other room, she hears conversation and more clinks of silverware. Of course Bohdi had followed her to the kitchen; he was always on the lookout for free food, even before he was magical.
By the time Amy settles into the tub, she’s clean, and the clank of plates and conversation has gone silent. It shouldn’t make her sad, but it does a little. She settles deeper into the water, closes her eyes, and just tries to forget everything.
x x x x
The water is cold. Amy sits up with a start and hurries out of the bath. She pulls on the clean clothes laid out for her. They evidently were for a much shorter person: a man’s tunic that hits her hip and that she can’t lace at the top, because it doesn’t quite fit her chest, and trousers that only reach halfway down her calves. But everything’s clean and soft, and she won’t complain.
Tying up her hair, she goes into the kitchen. It’s lit by the curious little pink orbs and is empty—the only sound is Rush’s snoring. She peers into the room where he sleeps. Fenrir is stretched out by his side—if she came in it must be really cold outside.
She leaves the kitchen and enters the foyer living area. The fire has died down, but Bohdi is still sitting in front of it. His parka is tossed across the sofa.
“What are you doing here?” Amy asks.
Bohdi turns and looks over the sofa. “Up until now, wondering if you’d drowned.”
Covering a yawn, Amy says, “No, really?”
Standing up, Bohdi walks over. Stopping when he’s just a little too close, he tilts his head, grins and echoes her words. “No, really.”
“You’re teasing me.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Yes.”
“Don’t.”
He shrugs. “Okay.”
“Why are you here?” she asks. She looks to the door. “Are you on guard? Or is it too cold to go back to the party, or—”
“I’m here to be with you,” Bohdi says.
Amy blinks at him.
He tilts his head. “Is that so hard to believe?”
Well, frankly … “Yes.”
He scowls. “Why?”
She bites her lip, eyes sliding to the door, remembering the party the night before and the girl blowing kisses at him at breakfast. “We’ve stumbled into what, is, I don’t know … your ideal habitat. I see the way the girls look at you. You could have your threesome; you might be able to skip right over that to a foursome.”
“Because that worked out for me last time,” he says.
“They’re not spider women,” Amy says, putting her hands on her hips.
Bohdi’s lips purse. “Are you trying to convince me to have sex with Frost Giants?”
Amy can’t meet his eyes. “Well, no, but I know how you are.” She holds up her hands. “And that’s fine, I wish I was more like that, it would be better … but I’m not, and it would be weird if you and I, if we … and then you … because that’s how you are, and I understand, and it’s okay because we’re friends. But if we were more … ” She sucks in a breath. “I’m babbling.”
“Yes,” Bohdi says. She glances up at him. He’s not smiling now. “But I understand.”
Amy relaxes. “Okay, then … well …”
“But the thing is, I don’t want to sleep with the Frost Giantesses.”
Amy blinks and tenses. This is not how she expected this conversation to go. He’s not touching her, but she feels herself flush as though he had. “Really?” she says. “But they’re gorgeous.”
He winces. “Yeah.” He looks at the ceiling and rubs his chin. “My timing leaves a lot to be desired.”
“Timing?”
He sighs and flicks his lighter. “The thing is, I’m done.”
“Done?” Amy says.
He shrugs. “I just would rather be with one particular girl than all the other girls.” He gives her a crooked half smile. “I’ve heard it happens to guys like me.”
“No …” Amy shakes her head.
Bohdi’s jaw gets hard. “Oh, come on, Amy. You more than most women have to know that it’s true.”
Amy swallows. He’s talking about Loki. Loki … was, well, a tramp. But then he met Aggie, and then he was with Sigyn, and he loved them, and he was good to them. But when his marriage to Sigyn disintegrated, he went back to his old ways. What he felt for Amy wasn’t what he felt for his wives. He was fond of her, but it wasn’t love … it was just ... she shakes her head. “No, not to me, I was just his …” She looks up at Bohdi, realizing she’s just spoken aloud.
“You were his teddy bear?” Bohdi says, and she can see the muscles in his jaw twitch, like he’s really mad.
She was going to say toy or plaything, and he’s just completely turned that around and inside out. Amy takes a step back, and Bohdi takes a step forward. “He knew he was dying, and he held onto you for dear life. You have to know that.” His voice is low, angry, almost scary. He reaches forward and brushes her cheek, and she realizes she’s crying.
“Don’t you dare think you were anything less,” Bohdi says, and before she knows what is happening, he sweeps her up into a hug that’s real and just short of bone breaking. It’s automatic when she wraps her arms around him and presses her cheek to his chest. But the buzz that ignites beneath her skin is more than automatic. She listens to his heartbeat and takes a deep breath.
And then Bohdi pulls away. Her legs feel weak. Not looking at him, she swallows. “Why do you always defend me?” Against Steve, Larson, Valli, and herself.
“I don’t always defend you.”
She lifts her eyes. He gives her a tight smile. “When you’re wrong, I always let you know, loudly and gleefully.”
She remembers his dismissal of her theory of the magical retention of memories. He had been gleeful, and it had been a little humiliating. But he had been right. She blinks. He’s disagreeing now, but he doesn’t sound gleeful. Her body is buzzing too much for her to think about it. Her eyes drift to his lips, and back up to his eyes.
Does she think he’s fallen madly in love with her and is going to give her forever? No. But they don’t have forever, they have until winter ends, they leave the Iron Wood and either make it home or are captured by Odin. She bites her lip. She believes he’ll give her that. Not for love, but because when her life’s on the line, there is no one else more likely to stick by her.
&
nbsp; She lifts her chin. “Are you going to kiss me now?”
Bohdi gives her a wicked smile, and she wonders how much of a game this is to him, and how much she should care.
x x x x
A baby’s wail cuts through the night and crashes down on Bohdi like a bucket of ice water. Where she straddles his lap on the sofa, Amy pulls back fast, her lips swollen, her hair askew, the front of the dwarven tunic she’s wearing loose. His hands drift down her sides to her thighs, the fabric of the dwarven trousers soft beneath his fingers.
She looks at him with slightly wild eyes. He’s sure his are the same. The wind outside must be crazy because he hears tree branches crackling. The house groans. His hands slide over hers.
She stammers, “We can’t, I’m not …”
Upstairs there is the sound of footsteps. He feels her tense ... and then the baby is quiet.
“I can’t get pregnant here,” Amy says, and she sounds a little frantic.
Bohdi leans forward and wraps his arms around her back because frankly he’s afraid she’ll bolt. “Shhhh …” he soothes, rubbing his hand in tiny circles. “We don’t have to go that far, Amy.”
She relaxes and drops her chin on his head. And they just sit there for a few minutes. He’s turned on and he’s finally warm after standing outside in the cold for what felt like all night after that cold front came in. He’s exhausted from the evening and the shift he pulled earlier this morning … or was it yesterday morning, at this point? But he’s also happy.
Talk of the ex from Asgard put him temporarily in a bad mood. He knows at some point that will be a discussion. His hand freezes on her back. He knows he’s wandering into bad sitcom territory by not telling her, but what sitcom features a plot with having to tell your girl you’re the reincarnation of her ex, the incarnation of Chaos and the Destroyer? If he told her now, would she slap him, or fall into bed with him? Neither is acceptable.
Amy’s head drops on top of his and her arms wrap around his back. “I don’t want to let you go.”
He’s glad she can’t see his face because that makes him grin like a happy puppy dog. Summoning up the most dignified voice he can manage, he says, “Then don’t.”
He rocks her for awhile and feels her body lean heavier against his. If he were anywhere but here, with her on his lap, he’d be obsessing about finding the magic mirror tomorrow, but with Amy he can enjoy the moment. It’s amazing that he’s here. Steve said that Bohdi and Beatrice could sleep at the inn. Steve wants two people in shouting distance of the guys on guard in case the natives get restless. And then, miracle of miracles, Beatrice had declared that she was turning in, leaving him alone with Amy.
Amy stirs on his lap and it’s a gorgeous sensation. “I’m tired,” she says.
Bohdi pulls her tight. “Well, then, let’s go to bed.”
She pulls back and looks down at him suspiciously. He bats his eyelashes at her. “I know it may be hard to believe, but I have been known to snuggle.”
“Snuggle?”
He wraps his arms beneath her and manages to stand up, her legs wrap around him automatically, and she gasps.
“Mmmmm hmmmm…and sleep.” He murmurs, pressing his forehead against hers. He likes snuggling. It’s like extended foreplay. And even if they don’t do anything that would get Amy pregnant if his swimmers weren’t defective, there’s still lots of other things they can do. Thoughts of them will probably keep him painfully aroused all night. It will be perfect.
Chapter 18
“He looks great,” Amy says, lifting Cannonball’s arms above his head. Lying on a dresser, he gazes up at her with glowing eyes. She looks at Bjorna. “I’m more worried about you at this point.”
Bjorna is pale even for a Frost Giantess. The woman shakes her head. “No, I must get up. It’s afternoon! Can’t be useless ...”
She struggles to get up and reaches for Cannonball. Her hands are shaking. Gem, coming in the door with food, gives a cry. “Lie down!”
Bjorna collapses with a scowl. Gently picking up Cannonball, Amy presses him into the nook between her body and her arm. “You’re both going to be okay,” she says, “but you need rest.” She smiles as she says it, because it’s true, and also, she’s just in a good mood.
From the open door comes the sound of Rush’s hacking. She’s in a good mood, despite having to be Rush’s nurse. She’s back in her own clothing, and her electronics are charged. She takes out her phone and checks the time. Nodding to Bjorna, she leaves the room. She passes Beatrice’s door—her grandmother had gone with Nari this morning to the market to attempt to use their ‘tradeable goods’ to procure food. Amy’s brow furrows—she’s still not even sure what ‘tradeable goods’ are. Shaking her head, she continues down the hallway. She hesitates by the doorway to the room she had shared with Bohdi last night. It is only slightly larger than the two beds Gem pushed together for Amy. Bohdi had to sleep at a diagonal dead in the center. It should have been uncomfortable, but it had been great. Bohdi’s got an interesting definition of “snuggling,” but it’s probably why she’s in a good mood.
The alarm on her phone buzzes, and she hurries down the stairs to the mud room. Rush is sitting wrapped in a blanket, head over a bucket. Even Loki, not known for moderation, wouldn’t have had more than a thimbleful of tuber beer—the stuff is delicious—but potent. Rush took some from Ullr and is suffering from severe dehydration. She goes over and peeks into the bucket. It’s empty. “Congratulations, Rush, you can have some more electrolyte solution.”
He doesn’t even grunt. She didn’t expect him to. He hasn’t acknowledged her once this morning, even though her “doctor’s orders” saved him from having to go out and dig out Gullveig’s chamber.
Going to the kitchen, Amy grabs a little packet of electrolyte mix and is about to dump it into a canteen when she hears familiar footsteps in the foyer. She goes to peek. Sure enough, it’s Bohdi. He grins at her, winks, and says, “Ma’am, you’re needed by the team. Captain sent me to collect you.” She blinks. They dug out the tunnel fast. Now they’ll want her to corroborate that they’ve got the right place. She grins back. “Sure thing. Let me just attend to my patient.”
“Patel!” Rush shouts, “Is that you? Get in here!”
Scowling, Bohdi looks toward the sound of Rush’s voice. He shakes his head but follows Amy into the kitchen and then goes to the mud room.
As Amy prepares the solution for Rush in a canteen, she hears the SEAL say, “Patel, Captain told me that you and Valli saved me last night. I would be dead in the snow if it weren’t for you.”
Bohdi makes a noncommittal noise, and Rush mumbles, “I really fucked up.”
And boy did he. Amy heard him recounting the events of the night before to Steve and Larson. Rush accused Ullr of tricking him into drinking the beer. “How did he do that?” Larson had demanded. “He told me more than a sip was too strong for me, Sir!” Rush responded. “So he didn’t so much trick you as tell you the truth?” Steve roared. There had been a moment of silence; then, Amy was sure from rooms away that she could hear Steve’s jaw grinding and the veins in Larson’s forehead popping. She winces; she’d actually almost felt bad for Rush during the joint tirade.
“Yes, you did fuck up,” says Bohdi.
“Larson and the Captain read me the riot act this morning,” says Rush.
“I heard,” says Bohdi, as Amy picks up the solution she’s mixed and a mug.
“So you spent the night here?” says Rush. There’s something gleeful in his voice, and it makes Amy stop in her tracks.
“What did you do to get on the Captain’s good side?” Rush says. “Last night Beatrice tried to cock block you and he convinced her to back down.”
Bohdi doesn’t respond to that, and Rush keeps going. “So did you and the doctor … ?”
Bohdi’s voice is curt when he responds. “My people wait until marriage, Rush.”
Amy almost chokes on her spit. Thumping her chest, she enters the mudroom and pours
a small amount of liquid from the canteen into the mug. “Here you go, Rush.”
Rush is staring at Bohdi wide-eyed and slack-jawed, but he takes the mug from Amy. “Drink it all,” she says. He obediently downs the liquid.
As he lowers the cup, Bohdi says, “Aren’t you going to say thank you to the doctor?’
“Uh, I thought I did.”
“No,” Amy and Bohdi say in unison.
“Sorry, man,” says Rush to Bohdi.
“Say it to her!” says Bohdi. “Not me. What’s wrong with you?”
Rush turns his head in her direction, but doesn’t meet her eyes. “Sorry. Thanks.”
“No problem,” says Amy. “You can take another sip in thirty minutes if you haven’t thrown up. Keep that down and you can take another sip after that in fifteen minutes. Don’t throw up after that and you can up the dose to a quarter cup every half hour.”
Rush nods.
“Say thank you,” says Bohdi again. His eyes are narrowed, and his voice is low and dangerous. It actually makes her uncomfortable.
“Thank you,” Rush mumbles, not looking at Amy.
Bohdi huffs, and Amy says, “I’ll go get the rest of my gear on.” She heads up to her room; Bohdi follows on her heels and closes the door behind them. She expects a kiss or a hug, but he immediately goes over to the window and scowls at whatever he sees outside.
The guys brought her gear over earlier, and Mr. Squeakers came with them. He cheeps and scampers into Amy’s pocket as she swings on her parka.
Snapping the last closure, she pats her breast pocket, making sure Loki’s little white book is safely tucked within. “What’s going on?” she whispers.
“I’m not sure.” Still gazing out the tiny window, he taps his radio headpiece and says, “Captain, looks like there are some new Frost Giants moving into town. They don’t look dangerous, but there are a lot of them.” Steve’s response is too faint for her to hear. She snaps on her own headpiece and goes to the door. She’s just about to turn the handle when Bohdi sneaks up behind her. Pressing the full length of his body against hers, he catches her hand. Kissing the back of her neck, he says, “Nuh-uh.”