Chapter 139

"I'm here, I'm here!" Gloria announced as she strolled into the room.

"Oh, thank goodness." I got up and walked to her.

"How's is he?" She asked as she took off her coat to reveal a very, fancy dress.

I didn't ask about it and just answered her question, "He's got a fever and um, he's," I took a shuddering breath, "And he's um, well that's pretty much it but uh, I've given him his pills and he's not getting better." Ugh, I was stuttering so much.

All three of us marched to the bed and found Raph still sweating and panting for air. I dabbed his forehead, I really had no idea what to do.

Gloria checked his pulse and temperature, "He's at forty-three. I'll give him a shot and if it doesn't go down after that then just keep me posted."

I nodded and she brought out a syringe and dabbed at Raph's arm then injected the clear liquid into his arm.

There was no immediate change but I'm sure he'll be fine soon.

Gloria cleared her throat, "Because your mate has never had to deal with any illnesses, his body has almost no immune system. He is high risk, and should not be in contact with many people. Just be sure to keep him healthy till this is over." She said and then she said goodnight and that she could show herself out.

Me and Thomas both said goodnight and then he said that he should probably head out too.

I nodded numbly.

"Anything else you need?" He asked as he put his coat back on.

"Do you think an Elf did this?" I asked stroking Raph's hand.

"One thing I learned is that you can't think like that. So don't. He probably caught a cold and like Gloria said, his body can't take it."

I nodded then forced a smile, "Yeah, okay. You're probably right. You're right."

"Kay then, goodnight." Thomas said and headed for the door.

"Goodnight, see you tomorrow." I called after him.

He didn't ask about my gift.

-And by the way, you can't tell anyone about my gift.- I told him.

-What gift? The mind linking thing?- He asked.

-Yeah, just be sure not to say anything about it to anybody, kay.-

-Okay, goodnight Brooke.-

-Night.- I cut the channel off and stared down at my struggling mate. I stroked his forehead, "Shh, you're fine. You're gonna be okay."

I crawled into my side of the bed and held his hand as I fell asleep.

~~~~~~~~

"Brooke! Brooke!"

I sat up and fell back down, it's not a good idea to sit completely upright when waking from sleep.

"What? What?" I asked as I slowly rolled over and raised myself on my elbow.

Raph was laying just as before but his glowing golden eyes were open, "I-I threw up."

I bit the inside of my lip and folded them together. The combination of cuteness and the fact that he was a little helpless, made my heart melt.

"Okay," I whispered as I stood from the bed, "You feeling any better?"

"No." He said with a gravely voice.

I chuckled softly, "Okay. I'll clean it up and get you some water."

After cleaning up the mess and getting some water I sat on the edge of the bed and checked his forehead, "Well, you're not as warm."

"Why do you love me?" He asked.

My hand fell from his forehead and I blinked, unsure that I'd heard him correctly.

"Why do I-?" I moved closer and laid down next to him, "Oh, Raph, what on earth do you mean?"

"Why do you love me? I mean, we met for one day, then we kissed, you passed out and I kidnapped you from your home and took you across the province. If you'd never met me you would never have had to meet Elves, or deal with crazy Lycans-"

"Woah, okay." I pressed my finger to his lips, "I'm gonna stop you right there. I love you, not just because you are my mate. But because I just love you. I know, I'm absolutely terrible with words but here me out. When we first met-"

"You shot me in the chest." He said and I could see a hint of a smile on his face.

I hit him gently on his shoulder, "Hey, but yes, yes I did." I said smiling, "Now, as I was saying. I shot you in the chest, and from the moment I saw you, other than seeing how incredibly attractive and beautiful you are, you were fun, and made me laugh, the moment you met me you cared about me. And then the night after we kissed, the whole kidnapping me, I think, was mostly out of sheer panic." I smiled and rubbed his hair. He smiled softly back.

Seeing him like this just caused my heart to swell and break at the same time.

"Okay, and I definitely would not have married you if I didn't love you. Because guess what Raphael Rivers, I love you…" I paused.

"I love you…?" He said.

I laughed, "Yeah, sorry. I'm just trying to come up with a good adjective, I'm really bad at this."

He laughed then he stopped and grabbed his chest, "Oh, ow… ribs hurt."

"Oh, honey." I rubbed his shoulder, it was one of the places on his body that I knew wouldn't hurt, or cause anything.

We sat just in the comfortable silence, and with the sound of Parker's gentle snores, "Okay. I've thought of a few words but they're all really cheesy."

He smiled, "I don't mind cheesy."

"Really, you seem like the kind of guy that…" I smiled and nodded, "Yeah okay, you seem like the kind of guy who would like cheesy things."

He smiled softly I smiled back, "Okay, I've got; madly, in love with you. Really, in love with you. Desperately, but that seems too desperate. Sooooo in love with you," I said dramatically, "Cause baby, I'm so in love with you." I leaned forward and gave him a kiss.

Luckily his mouth did not taste like, ahem, bile. It tasted as good as always, fresh and minty, and if it hadn't I'm sure I would've enjoyed it anyways. My husband is a pretty good kisser.

"Okay, before we go back to bed, would you like a bucket?" I said as peppy as I could manage.

"Ughh!" He groaned dramatically and put his head in his hands, "I don't mean to sound immature or overdramatic, but, this is one of the worst things I have ever experienced."

"What?"

"Being like this." He gestured to his legs underneath the blankets, "This is horrible. Okay, I'm sorry. Not horrible but it's just so awful."

I tilted my head sympathetically, "Oh, honey. It's called being human."

"How can you live like this?" He asked raising his head.

My eyes widened and I huffed a laugh, "Well, Raph. I have never lived any other way. And because of that, I actually have an immune system and can be humble."

"I can be humble." He grumbled, "It's just. I fell so…so…" He stuttered his face crossed with frustration.

"So…?"

"So pathetic. I mean look at me. I am the Beta of the most powerful pack in North America and I am bedridden with a broken leg and just threw up on my carpet, which was absolutely horrible by the way. Have you ever thrown up before? And now my head's spinning."

I watched my poor mate as he held his head, "Okay, first off, Raphael you are not pathetic, you're just learning and you have to have a better attitude about it. Second, is this pack really the most powerful?"

He looked at me unamused, "Really?"

"Okay, okay. I'm kidding. But we'll talk about it later. Third, you're not bedridden, you can walk-"

"Yeah, on crutches. It is the most humiliating thing in the world." He said pointing to the crutches across the room where I'd put them.

"Honey, there are way more humiliating things in the world." I said shaking my head.

"Like what?"

"Nothing off the top of my head, but there are. Next, yes I have thrown up and trust me honey, it is the worst experience in the world, other than labour I think, not that I've experienced that. And last, if you're head is spinning it's because you just threw up and lost almost all the nutrients that were going into you're body. Drink your water and I'll get you a bucket."

I gave him a kiss then got up, being married was mentally and emotionally taxing. Also physically but that's like a whole other field. But, being married was awesome and I did love him with all my heart.

After finally getting all snuggled back in we gave each other one last kiss and then slept for the rest of the night.