Chapter 15

"Surprise," Sunny gleefully announced as she swung open the front door of the cottage. A second later, as she took in the intimate embrace on the sofa, "Oh, I'm sorry … I didn't know … Oh… Human!" she gasped as her silver ringed blue green eyes locked on to the terrified steel blue eyes of the small human that was struggling to get off of Sings.

Sarah froze for an instant at the sound of the voice. A quick turn to see the owner of it and she was on the move, pushing off Sam, trying to get to her feet to escape.

Sam reached out as Sarah was in a frantic effort to push away. He unconsciously hung on to one of her arms for a couple of seconds causing Sarah to spin around ending up flopping back down on to the end of the sofa facing up directing at Sunny.

Sunny dropped her insulated bag with lunch, reached into her pocketbook and grabbed the spray bottle of sleep she always carried for protection. A few quick steps brought her a couple feet from the wild human. A well aimed shot and it was unconscious in seconds, slumped half hanging over the arm of the sofa. She took a deep breath and looked to Sings to be sure he wasn't hurt in the attack by the wild human. She was stunned by what she saw. Sings was up and over, picking the small human up into his arms. Hugging it, stroking its back, he appeared to be trying to comfort the creature, all the while pleading, Sarah … Sarah?

The last thing Sarah saw was the bottle pointed at her as she tried to pull out of Sam's grasp and then the smell of raspberries…

Sam took a few seconds to come to terms with what had just occurred. For the moment he focused on Sarah. He knew she was fine. Sunny would only have sleep and that certainly looked like all it was. He carefully laid her out on the sofa, adjusted her position to make her comfortable and gently brushed the hair from her face. He hesitated just a moment looking at her now calm peaceful face then leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. He swallowed nervously as his fingers traced a caring path down Sarah's cheek as he stood, then turned to face his best friend.

"What? … Who? … "Sunny stammered, trying to make some kind of sense of what had just occurred in front of her. For a second she had the horrible thought that she had made a terrible mistake. Maybe she had missed the silver in the eyes. She had been sure just moments before, but Sings actions now caused her to doubt what she was sure she had seen. "I'm so sorry; I thought for sure it was a wild human attacking you…"

"Her name is Sarah." Sam paused and looked in Sunny's now sorrowful eyes. "She's the girl I was telling you about yesterday at lunch."

"Oh, no, I'm so, so sorry I was so sur…" Sunny's heartfelt apologies were cut off.

"She's a wild human…" Sam stated.

Sunny's mouth froze half open at the words.

"She's the small female from the group Flame Tender was telling us about. He thought she hadn't survived. She almost didn't." Sam explained as he looked into his friend's flabbergasted face.

Sunny stared at Sings. Her brain was stuck trying to make sense of the situation, the words, the story she was hearing. Her eyes glanced over to the creature sleeping calming on her best friends sofa then back to his nervous face. "Wwwhy, is it here?"

Sam looked straight into Sunny's questioning eyes, "She is here because I asked her to stay. I promised her I would care for her and protect her … and I will." The words came out in a tone not usual between souls. "I told you yesterday, when she left a week ago that I asked her to return and I hoped she would, and she did, last night." Sam tried to compose his voice and his mental state.

"You never said she was a wild human!" Sunny exclaimed. Sunny was now more upset that most Souls ever get as she pointed an accusing finger in horror at the small form lying on the sofa.

"Well, I, ah…" Sam was tense and anxious under his friend's accusatory glare. "I obviously couldn't tell you that, but everything I said was correct. I just left out that one, ah, thing…"

Sunny glared at Sings for another few seconds then slowly relented. Her soul temperament overcame the host emotions and she took a deep breath. "Why? What were you thinking? A wild human? Why didn't you call Snow or Flame Tender when it arrived?" She asked in a slightly more composed tone.

Sam paused again, attempted to gather his thoughts to explain to Sunny his irrational, illogic actions. "She was starved, scared, hurt, badly hurt, in a lot of pain. I, I couldn't let her suffer. I had to help her. I knew right away she wasn't a child, and what that meant… I thought about it while she slept and I healed her injuries. I knew I should have called, I even tried a couple of times … I, I just couldn't … I couldn't be the cause of her death. Then, I developed these feelings … I thought it was just pity for any helpless creature, but… it was more … and the next morning, when we talked…" Sam remembered how that had gone at first and decided again that there were some details he best not relate to Sunny. He hesitated again.

Sunny's eyes swelled and her eyebrows rose as she remembered their conversation at the diner and Sings' questions. How could… it's a …

The two friends stated at each other in a tense silence as seconds ticked by.

Sam suddenly blurted out a semi-related, but certainly a bit inappropriate for the tense situation, comment. "She returned, just as you guaranteed she would. So, I guess you don't have to try pie…" Sam let a small smirk cross his face as he stared at Sunny.

Sunny hesitated, considering the remark. She suddenly broke the impasse, rolled her eyes, shook her head and smirked back. "What have you gotten yourself into…?"

Sam shrugged, "Like you said one time, you can't always pick the person you develop partnering feelings for…" He then turned serious as he looked over at Sarah. "She's the one." Sam stated as he looked back at Sunny. "We've talked a lot since yesterday. Very difficult conversations. She has feelings for me, even after all the tough things we had to discuss.

Sunny looked at Sam warily. "Humans lie, you know that…"

"Yeah, I know, and maybe I'm naive, but I don't think so … she asked me some very demanding questions about us, our species. She challenged my feelings for her, as a wild human. I responded honestly, obviously, but I also demanded the same of her. I thought she answered honestly. She said she still needed time to be sure." Sam shrugged again as he looked over at Sarah. "If she was lying and just wanted to use me for support and protection, she wouldn't have been so hesitate, she would have easily told me what I wanted to hear.

Sunny looked at him, "Did you say you had partnering feelings first?"

"Well, yeah, I did, but we had already had some involved difficult conversations … I felt a response from her, feelings. Yeah, I know, maybe they were just gratitude for my help and sure maybe that's all she felt at first, but I know it's more now. "Sam said almost defiantly. He paused to regain control and calm down. "You told me how difficult these human emotions for partnering are to understand. Believe me; I certainly know what you were talking about now."

Sunny was silent as she took in Sam face, seeing the human emotions, the feelings he was trying to understand and express, clearly visible to her. She sighed and looked over at, hum, Sarah. "This is crazy…" She whispered as she gazed at the small female that had captured her best friend's 'heart'. She shook her head slightly and looked back at Sam. "Do you have a plan for her…" she gestured to the sofa. "How are you going to protect her?"

"I just won't tell anyone, just keep her here…" Sam responded uncertainly, knowing he really hadn't thought through how he would protect her.

"I know now … I'll have to tell Snow … I can't not tell him…" Sunny trailed off.

"Wh…" Sam knew the answer. He knew any Soul would tell. This is not something, especially partners, wouldn't tell each other. Much as he wanted to, he couldn't ask her not to say anything to Snow. Even if he did, she couldn't promise him that. He didn't know what to do, to say. He couldn't think of a plan. He promised Sarah he would protect her, keep her safe, now, the cold reality was overwhelming. Sam felt his entire being emotionally collapse in on him. A wave of fear, physical nausea, and cold sweats flowed over his body. He turned away from Sunny and stepped slowly over to the small human he loved. Knelling down beside her, he picked up her hand as he looked at her calm face; the slow gentle breathes causing a slight movement of her chest. The human emotions were more than he could stand as he leaned in, moving his head down against the small warm hand he held. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" The silver being that was Sings Above The Mountains couldn't control the outpouring of human emotion manifested by a physical catch and then a constriction of his throat. A gasping sound, soon there was a quiet sob, followed by tears.

After a few seconds, Sings stopped the sobs and the tears. He pulled himself tightly together by the edge of the sofa, wrapped his arms around his body, closed his eyes, lowered his chin to his chest and went absolutely ridged and silent.

Sunny stood over the scene dumbfounded. She was torn with confusion and uncertainty. Sings' reaction was at first surprising then as she realized the deep feelings he apparently had for the human female, she tried to understand. Then, she saw his entire demeanor change. She didn't understand what had caused the change. She stepped over to him and touched his shoulder. "Sings, I…" Sings cringed away slightly from her touch. Sunny straighten up and looked at Sings for a moment, not sure what he was doing, then she knew. She had never seen it. He had told her once, briefly, she couldn't remember why it had even come up in conversation. She stood frozen staring, staring at mourning. Mourning… in the way of the bats, his last world.

Minutes passed. Sunny stared at the situation not knowing what to do. She knew she should call Snow. She also knew the result. Somehow, she felt guilty?

Snow heard his phone as he studied the weekly report he needed to review before it was submitted to the leadership committee. "Hi Babe, what are you up to?"

Sunny hesitated a second and sucked in a breath as she looked at the sleeping human. "Could you come over to Sing's cottage right away? Ah, just you, please?"

Snow stiffened immediately, the report forgotten. The tone in his partner's voice was scary. She was always so calm, clear, decisive; now? "What's the problem?" he asked worriedly.

"Please, I'll explain when you get here, please just you." Sunny pleaded.

"I'm on my way…" Snow replied as he moved to shut down his computer.

Sam pulled his mind out of the depth of his despair as he heard Sunny's call. At that moment the host memories that had been plaguing him played one thought over and over in his brain. Run! Take her and run. Somewhere, anywhere. Now! After a quick look into Sarah's sleeping face, he was up. Garbage bags, entered his mind and he set off for the kitchen. There he grabbed a box of large garbage bags and started filling one with all the food supplies he had gotten for her.

"Sings? What are you doing?" Sunny asked anxiously as she followed him.

"Is Snow on his way?"

"Yes, I asked him to come alone… Sings, please we can talk about this… what are you planning?"

"What is there to talk about, you know the new policy…" Sam replied as he filled another two bags with blankets, towels, medicines and toiletries from the bathroom.

"Yes, but, why?" Sunny pleaded as she followed him out to his car and watched him toss the bags into the trunk.

Back in the house Sam filled another few bags with warm clothing and was out the front door again. This time Sunny stood and watched him. She turned to the young woman sleeping on the sofa. "He loves you. I don't know why or how… he loves you…" she mumbled as she shook her head. Sunny reached down and picked up the insulated bag of Mac and Cheese she had made for him. Sam was back in and gently scooped Sarah up off the sofa and headed back out the door to the car. Sunny followed.

Sam reached the car and carefully maneuvered Sarah into the back seat. He covered her with a blanket, carefully tucking it around her. He attached all three seat belts around her as best he could and after a few final adjustments to confirm to himself she was safe and comfortable, he backed out of the car.

The two best friends faced each other in a few seconds of silence.

"I, I have to go…" Sam stated nervously. "I'm sorry…"

Sunny looked at him as tears overflowed down her cheeks. "I , I don't understand," she paused, bit her lip, "but, I guess maybe I do, I wish I could help, but…"

Sam pulled his best friend into a warm tight hug. "I understand… I now understand why, you and Snow… partnering, you can't always pick who you have partnering feelings for…"

They stepped back and Sunny pushed the bag of lunch in Sam's hand. "Please take this, it's my Mac and Cheese, I know you like it," she paused and smiled through her tears, "I hope she does too."

After watching Sings drive away, Sunny walked slowly back into the cottage.

Minutes later Snow pulled up to the cottage in his silver Lotus seeker patrol car. He quickly stepped out and headed for the front door. He saw Sunny's car in the middle of the driveway, then some ruts in Sings lawn. However, Sing's car wasn't there. Puzzled, he jogged to the front door. As he entered he was stunned to see his partner sitting in a chair staring at him.

"Where's Sings?"

"Gone…"

"Why?"

"Love…"

After driving for over two hours Sam heard some moaning from the back seat. He sighed to himself and started looking for a place to pull over. The road was lightly traveled and passed through a heavily wooded area of a former national forest west of his home in the western suburbs of Little Rock. In a few minutes he found a quiet hidden spot under some large overhanging tree branches and pulled the car in off the road as far as possible. He looked back and watched as Sarah twitched and mumbled in her sleep. He got out and into the back with her. Gently he lifted her into his arms and holding her snugly, he sprayed awake in her face.

'Strawberries, again strawberries,' Sarah's brain almost instantly became awake and aware. She immediately opened her eyes and saw the face with the same concern in the brown eyes with the silver rings as a week ago.

"It's just me Sarah, we're alone. Nobody here to hurt you." Sam immediately assured her.

"I'm alive?" she panted out in fear and anxiety.

"Yes, you are…" he grinned at her.