18IMPORTANT! The first couple paragraphs in italics are actual excerpts from Night's Child. Therefore, I DO NOT own them. Neither do I own Hunter and Morgan. The number signs in bold later on will be changed later whenever I can figure out what day it was supposed to be. Thank you.
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING AFFILIATED WITH CATE TIERNAN OR THE SWEEP SERIES!
Previous Day…
"Do you want to be with me, Morgan?" he said softly. "You're my heart's love, my heart's ease. Will you join me in handfasting-will you be my wife?"
"Oh, yes. Yes," Morgan whispered, then rested her head against his shoulder.
7:45 AM Aberystwyth, Wales…
"Sweet," Hunter whispered, kissing her ear. Morgan reluctantly opened her eyes, then frowned as she realized Hunter was out of bed and already dressed.
"What are you doing?" she demanded sleepily. "Come back here." Hunter laughed and kissed a line of warmth beneath her ear.
"My last New Charter meeting, over in Wexford," he explained. "I'm taking the eight-oh-five ferry. I'll do my meeting, tell them to get a replacement, and be back by dinnertime at the latest. We can go get some of that fried stuff you love, all right?"
Morgan froze. She had a bad feeling. A horrible feeling. Something wasn't right. "Hunter, no."
"No fried stuff?" he asked confused, she shook her head.
"Don't go," she whispered, trying to keep the fear out of her voice.
"Love, I'll be back soon," he stroked her cheek with his thumb, staring into her eyes. He could feel her fear, despite her attempts to hide it.
"Hunter, please. Don't. Don't go. Stay with me," she gave up on concealing her fear, he knew her to well, anyway.
"Morgan, I'll be back soon. I'll be back so soon you won't have time to miss me," he kissed her nose.
"No. Hunter. Don't. Please. Don't leave. Don't go to Wexford. Don't get on that ferry. Please," Hunter was worried now, what had her so scared.
"Love, what's wrong?"
"I just have a bad feeling. Please, stay. Just stay," her voice was strained. Something bad was going to happen, and she didn't want him anywhere near where it was happening.
"I'll be back soon. And this is will be the last meeting-,"
"Hunter, please," tears were pooling in her eyes. She'd never been so scared, ever, not when Cal locked her in the pool house and tried to kill her, not when she'd fought Selene, either time, not when her own father had tried to strip of her powers, never. Hunter looked at her, he'd never seen her so terrified, and she'd been in situations far more dire than him going to a meeting.
"Okay, I'll stay. Calm down, love. It's okay, shh," he pulled her to him and cradled her to his chest. Hunter could feel the tears dripping from her eyes onto his shirt. He rocked her back and forth muttering soothing spells in her ear. After a while she calmed down a bit, and dozed off. They lay there for about twenty minutes, he started to drift off, too, but the sudden down pour made that impossible. Strange, he thought, the dawn had been so clear. Suddenly he heard shouting over the loud wind and Morgan woke up again.
"What is that?" she asked to no one in particular.
"I don't know, but let's go find out," he stood up and held out his hand to pull her off the bed. She found her clothes and threw them on.
They cast out there senses as they ran down the stairs, everything was quite frenzied, they picked up panic, fear. "What's going on?" Hunter asked a man who'd just ran in the door asking for boats and able-bodied seaman.
"The ferry went down! Can you help us?" he appeared to be quite scared. Hunter's eyes widened and he felt Morgan stiffen beside him, her hand tightening around his.
"Which ferry?" his voice was strained. But the man was already out the door. "Which ferry?!" they ran after him, Hunter pulling Morgan behind him. The two of them ran the three blocks to the boat dock; men were jumping into fishing boats everywhere and heading off into the white, choppy water. Someone bumped into Morgan from behind and as he tried to get away she grabbed his arm, "Please, sir, tell me which ferry went down?!" he looked at her bewildered and angry.
"The only ferry! The eight o' five to Wexford!" she let go of him and he ran off. She turned to Hunter and stared at him wordlessly.
"I was supposed to be on that ferry," his eyes were wide and blank as he looked at her tear streaked face.
10:58 AM Aberystwyth, Wales…
"Love, it'll be okay, please calm down," he tried wrap his arms around her but she pulled away.
"Calm down?! Hunter, you could've died! You're honestly asking me to calm down?!" she screamed at him with tears in her voice. He raised his hands in the hair as if to say, "I come in peace" as he walked toward her again.
"But I didn't die. I have you to thank for that. So please, darling, calm down, for me?" he looked at her pleadingly. She sank to the floor sobbing and he sat down encasing her in his strong arms.
She had been so scared this morning, and that had been just a feeling, but to have that feeling confirmed, to have the ferry her Hunter was supposed to be on sink to the ocean floor because of some freak storm that was now nowhere to be found in the sunny, blue, cloudless sky had her terrified. Had it been her that almost died, she probably wouldn't be sobbing on the floor right now. But Hunter? She had just gotten him back, for real, forever, she couldn't bear to have ripped away from her.
"Just think about it, Hunter. There weren't even clouds in the sky when the sun came up, there aren't clouds now! It's not even windy! How is it possible that just three hours ago there was a storm big enough to sink a ferry! A ferry that you were supposed to be on!" she looked pointedly at him and he couldn't deny her logic.
"It's just a coincidence, love," there are no coincidences; the voice in the back of his head reminded him.
"Hunter, there are no coincidences," and now Morgan was reminding him, too. It would appear that someone was trying to kill him, as much as he'd love to think that this wasn't magick related he knew it was. There's no way a storm that large came out of nowhere to sink the ferry he was supposed to be on, the storm itself must have been magickally generated, magickally generated for the purpose of killing of him, or hurting him, whichever. But what if it wasn't to hurt him? Morgan was the most powerful witch seen in centuries, was it possible this was to hurt her? No, because she wasn't supposed to be on that ferry. But, then, again, he was her soul mate, her muirn beatha dan. If she lost him what would happen to her? Was someone trying to hurt her through him?
"I know, Morgan. I just-," I just what? "I'm just worried that's all. I don't want you to get hurt," he rubbed her cheek with his thumb.
"Me? You're worried about me? Hunter, you're the one that almost died!" she looked incredulously up at him.
"Have you thought that maybe they're trying to get you through me?" she looked taken aback, and then it would appear to him that she considered this possibility, but then she shook her head.
"Nuh uh, Hunter, you're practically running the New Charter yourself, there's probably a lot more people with a grudge against you than with a grudge against me, I mean all that stuff ended for me after Ciaran was stripped of his powers and we figured out how to stop the dark wave. Why would anyone want to hurt me now?"
"Morgan, there's probably plenty of people out there that still hold a grudge against you, members of Amyranth, one's that haven't been caught or stripped of their powers. You can't rule out that possibility, especially when it's far more likely this is about you," it was hard for him to say all this out loud, the fact that someone wanted to hurt his Morgan made his blood boil. She looked down at the floor, her mind was reeling, and then her eyes were suddenly filled with resolve.
"It doesn't matter, even if they are trying to get to me through you, you're still in danger," she looked back up at him and her puffy, red eyes dared him to disagree.
"If I admit you're right will you calm down for me?" he smirked at her and she failed to suppress her smile.
"Not a chance," he kissed her and her arms went around his neck. He felt his very soul reach out to touch hers and that bliss that came when ever they were joined in this way filled him to the brim and overflowed…and then suddenly he froze, because they're was something there that shouldn't be. She pulled back to look at him, her expression turned bewildered at the sight of his wide eyes.
"Hunter? What is it? What's wrong?" she put her hand to his cheek. He blinked quickly and started taking in wild, uneven breaths.
"Morgan, cast your senses in," she raised her eyebrows and looked at him like he was mad.
"In?
"Yes, in," she did as he said and when she felt it her heart skipped a beat.
"Hunter…is that…what is…is that what I think it is?" she stuttered and while she waited for his answer, an answer that seemed to take forever to come, she felt herself go numb, preparing for whatever answer she received.
"I-I thi-nk s-o," she nodded slowly, she attempted to say something but no sound came out, so she closed her mouth again. Then tried again with more success.
"How?" she stared into his eyes and he stared back, Hunter shook his head.
"I don't know, love. I don't know," she looked away, towards the tacky inn wallpaper and the ugly, old lamps on the bedside table.
"What are we going to do?" she breathed, and he froze.
"What do you mean?" he eyed her warily.
"What do I mean? Hunter, tell me exactly how were going to take care of a baby? I mean it's not as if we have money pouring out of our ears! What are my parents gonna say? Oh, Goddess, oh god, oh god," she began to hyperventilate and her body was shaking, convulsing almost.
"Morgan, look at me, darling, look at me," he took her face in his hands and turned her head toward his face. Her eyes were beginning to fill with tears and her terrified expression made his heartbreak, she looked almost as scared as she did this morning, and this almost made him laugh, almost. "We will be fine, understand, we will be fine," when she started shaking her head at him he sighed and pulled her to his chest and wrapped her in his strong arms. "I promise, I swear, we'll be okay. Do you…you do want this baby… don't you?" he was suddenly scared of the answer. If she didn't he wouldn't make her keep it, but he couldn't honestly imagine not having it, because suddenly it was just as much as part of him as Morgan was. She pulled back and she almost looked betrayed.
"Hunter, do you honestly think I would do that? Do you honestly think I'd kill our baby?" our baby. The words made the impossible idea a reality and suddenly he was crying with her. He pulled her back to his chest and tucked her head under his chin.
"Oh Morgan, we're having a baby, a baby," and as she smiled into his neck she had to believe him, because if she didn't she wouldn't be able to do this.
###### 6:12 Aberystwyth, Wales…
"What is this? Morgan looked down at the plate of food in front of her. "I thought you said we were having fried stuff," she raised her eyebrows at him and he chuckled, he smiled lovingly at her and kissed her lips softly.
"That was this morning, before I knew you were pregnant," he laughed at her again as her expression got more confused.
"So? What does that have to do with anything?" she was desperately trying to understand, and she wasn't doing a very good job. Having Hunter almost die and then finding out she was pregnant was making her head a bit fuzzy.
"So, it's hard enough to let me watch you eat junk food when it's just you. You are most definitely no eating that stuff while you're pregnant. Not only is it bad for you, but it's bad for the baby, ask any doctor that, which reminds me, when we get to Cobh we have to find you a doctor," she had become more and more aghast as each word poured out of his mouth.
"Doctor? Are we not Wiccan? And since when is junk bad for you? You're not taking my diet coke and my pop-tarts away too, are you?" she looked like a dear caught in headlights and Hunter tried desperately not to laugh at her.
"Western medicine got some things right, besides it's better to be safe than sorry. And, love, there's a reason they call it junk food, of course it's bad for you. And, yes, I'm sorry sweetheart, but I am taking away your diet coke and pop-tarts, you're not supposed to have caffeine anyway," she wanted to cry now.
"I'll get the decaffeinated kind! Please!" he shook his head and smiled lovingly at her.
"Darling, that has caffeine in it too," her lips turned pouty and her eyes started watering, the fact that he new being not two days pregnant her hormones weren't even beginning to kick in and the crying was simply her devastation at the prospect of not being allowed to drink diet coke or eat pop-tarts or junk food for the next nine months, actually it would be longer because she couldn't eat or drink that stuff while she was breast feeding, either, made him want laugh until he cried.
"Nuh uh, only a little bit," she clutched desperately at anything she could that could possibly save him from draining her precious soda down the sink.
"I'm sorry, darling, no," he rubbed his thumb along her cheek and kissed the tip of her nose.
"Hunter," she whined. He simply shook his head and stood up from his position kneeling on the floor. They were sitting at the small table by the window in their hotel room. He pulled his chair next to hers and sat down, he arm went around her waist and he kissed the top of her head. "This is insane! Nobody else prohibits their girlfriend form drinking diet coke!"
"Not many people have pregnant girlfriends. Besides, you'll be my wife soon," he whispered the last part in her ear and she stopped her pouting to smile.
"Fine then, not many husbands prohibit their wives from drinking diet coke," now he was smiling.
"Well, I'm not most husbands," she couldn't find any way he would change his mind, but she going to continue to try.
"Well, technically, we're not married yet," she felt his lips curve by her neck which he had been busy kissing, and move up towards her ear.
"Yet," he whispered in her ear.
REVIEW! PLEASE?! Oh well, if you don't I'll write it anyway, though I probably won't post anything...teehee. :) I'm dead serious, don't think I'm not-angry face-