A Walk on the Water

Alannah's heart sank down to the soles of her feet as he left her standing in the hallway of the massive Chateau shivering, still bleeding and in pain. Moments later he returned with towels and a thick robe for her to put on.

"Alannah, where have you been? We have been searching for you and you left us all worried to the bone."

"I found a bicycle in the tool shed and went for a ride, but I must have hit something because I fell and then it started to rain." She said, barely able to talk due to the shiverring and chattering of of teeth.

Dominic started spouting off in Spanish, looking even more angry at her. He handed her the robe and said "Take off that wet dress." When Alannah started to protest, he very harshly said, "Don't argue with me, we need to get you out of those wet clothes before you get sick."

Numbly, Alannah did her best to obey. When she tried to move her arm she screamed out in pain. Dominic went to the other room and came back with a pair of scissors and cut the shoulder straps, allowing the dress to fall in a soaked thud to the floor. No sooner was she out of her sodden dress than he gently helped get her into the robe, and wrapped the towel about her head, he then scooped her up in his arms and carried her upstairs. She rested her head against his shoulder, it hadn't even dawned on her that Dominic had seen her naked - nor did it dawn on her that she should be embarassed or car. As they were going up the stairs, she was barely aware of the orders that Dominic was giving to Maria.

"Maria, I want a very warm bath drawn, and then I want her in bed. I don't want her left alone."

"Yes Mr. Dominic."

Somewhere along the way Alannah - passed out again she was burning with fever. When she awoke, she could hear Dominic and Señora Beringer in her room. Opening her eyes took a great deal of effort, she struggled to sit up in bed and once again felt the pain in arm. She could smell the food and it smelled amazing, and her stomach growled with anticipation. A chuckle greeted her as she tried to discern where the wonderful aroma was coming from, when she winced in pain from trying to sit up once again she could hear someone spring into action.

"Are you OK Alannah?" Dominic fussed, "Please take it easy, the doctor says you broke your collar bone and you have some serious bruising on your stomach. The cut on your head required stitches, but you will heal just nicely. Nicolo also told us of the extended stay in the hospital in New York, so the Doctor had put you on antibiotics to make sure that you didn't catch pneumonia."