The Adventure Continues

[abrightboy]

For thatsfascinating.



The villa Malcolm rented was in the Languedoc, not far from Marseilles, south of Avignon. It was a very historic region, though Malcolm was particularly not interested in visiting Marseilles again. There was a charming village nearby the villa and if they were going to go to an historic city for a day, he'd rather make the trip over to Montpellier, where he'd never been at all, much less with Dr Whitly.

The villa had six bedrooms. As the driver brought their luggage inside the bright and spacious main room, Malcolm handed him some folded Euros and thanked him and shut the door behind him.

"First choice of a room is yours," he told Edrisa with a smile. "But you might want to explore first."

Comments

[abrightboy]

After they ate, fatigue overtook Malcolm and he fell asleep again.

[thatsfascinating]

Edrisa made sure he was comfortable, and that the restraints were secure. She softly kissed his forehead, then went to the other bed and climbed in, curling up under the thin hospital blanket. She watched over Malcolm until her own eyes grew heavy and she drifted off.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm's night terror didn't start with subtle stirring. He jolted into the bedrail, screaming, then thrashed the other way, hitting that rail too.

[thatsfascinating]

Edrisa bolted out of bed, rushing to his side. Dammit! She had forgotten to pad the rails! It was too late now...she couldn't get that close without risking getting hit.

"Bright, it's okay!" she said, standing as close as she could. "I'm here. I'm right here."

[abrightboy]

He screamed and screamed, thrashing from side to side. A nurse and two orderlies rushed into the room.

[thatsfascinating]

She turned toward them, holding out her hands, palms facing them. "It's okay it's okay! He has night terrors! He'll wake up any second, I promise! We just need to wait!"

There was really nothing they could do that wouldn't make things worse. She just hoped they spoke enough English to understand her.

[abrightboy]

One said something to the other in French, then looked at her.

"He... scream every time?"

[thatsfascinating]

She pointed at her. "Yes. Yes he does." She grimaced. "I know, it looks terrible. But he's going to be okay, I promise."

[abrightboy]

He sat bolt upright and gasped awake, breathing heavily, blinking into the dimly lit room, disoriented, trying to remember where he was.

[thatsfascinating]

Oh thank god. She immediately went to his side, touching his arm. "It's okay," she said softly. "You're in a hospital and I'm right here. Everything is fine."

[abrightboy]

He looked at her. It took his eyes a second to focus.

"A hospital?"

He frowned.

"France."

[thatsfascinating]

"France," she confirmed with a nod. "Concussion. How do you feel?"

[abrightboy]

"I'm... I have a headache."

The nurse stepped over, pulling out a penlight, urging Edrisa aside so she could assess him.

[thatsfascinating]

She stepped back to give the nurse room, wringing her fingers. A headache was to be expected with a concussion, so he was probably fine...but she was still worried.

[abrightboy]

The nurse decided he was still largely fine and nodded to Edrisa and left with her entourage.

"Let's not do this again soon, okay?" he said once they'd gone. He flexed his wrist. "It was a bad one, right?" He could feel the rawness in his throat and he could feel the tenderness of bruising on his arms.

[thatsfascinating]

She sighed with relief at the nurse's assessment and returned to his side. She nodded at his question. "It was pretty terrible." She winced at the bruising on his arms. "I'm sorry. I forgot to pad the rails. I can do that now..."

[abrightboy]

"No, don't worry about it; I'm not going to go back to sleep," he told her. He looked at her intently. "And this is not your fault," he added gesturing to his arm.

The next morning they released him, told him to take aspirin if the headaches persisted and they headed back to the villa.

[thatsfascinating]

"If you're not going back to sleep," she said, "can you hold me while I sleep a little?"

When they got back to the villa, Edrisa took his hand as they exited the taxi.

"How does a bath sound?" she asked as they headed toward the door.

[abrightboy]

"It sounds amazing," he told her. "I'm just... going to change into a different pair of sweatpants."

He'd let her get the bath ready. He needed to just... breathe for a moment.

[thatsfascinating]

She kissed his cheek, then headed for the bathroom. She turned on the water, got it to the right temperature, then stopped the tub. As the tub began to fill, she sat on the edge, closed her eyes, lowered her head, and let out a shuddering breath.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm put on a fresh pair of sweatpants but didn't bother with a shirt. He paused in the doorway, watching her.

"Are you okay?"

[thatsfascinating]

The sound of the water running had drowned out the sound of his footsteps, so she had no idea he was there until he spoke. If she had, she would have scrubbed the tears from her eyes before he saw them. As it was, her eyes were still wet when she looked up in surprise. She opened her mouth, but it was a second before she spoke.

"...Yeah," she said finally. "I will be."

[abrightboy]

He moved into the room, helping her up from the tub. He started undoing her dress, finally getting her out of the clothes she was assaulted in, much, much too late for his taste.

"You're coming in with me, right?" he murmured.

[thatsfascinating]

She nodded, and let him undress her, moving to help him slip the straps of the dress from her arms, stepping out of the dress when it fell to her feet.

"I liked that dress," she said softly, her eyes lowered so he couldn't see the tears.

[abrightboy]

"We'll find a new one that you like," he promised. "If we have to scour all of France."