Music of Souls

He carried the sleeping wolf upstairs, placed her on the bed, and then pulled a chair up to wait.

He watched in amazement as she morphed. The transformation was quick and smooth, not at all violent. Once back in human form, she stretched then groaned. She did not wake, but obviously still hurt from whatever transpired the previous night. He held her hand, noting that she felt warmer than usual. When she opened her eyes she smiled, then took in her surroundings and tried to sit up. "Ow! Why do I hurt?"

"That is a very good question."

She glared at him. "How did you find me?"

He put his hands up and leaned backed. "I didn't find you. You found me."

"What?" she stared at him incredulously, and tried to sit up again. "Shit! Why am I so sore? Jackson, what happened?"

He sat on the bed, holding her hand to his cheek. "You showed up at the door at around three-thirty this morning exhausted and hurting."

Elisabeth stared straight ahead with wide eyes for a long while. She finally turned to him and whispered, "I was nearly two hundred and fifty miles away."

"Well… guess that explains why you're sore. Jesus, how fast can you run?"

"I don't know. What happened when I got here?"

"First you collapsed. Then you had some water, a few steaks, then held court with Sarah and Connor."

She brought her hands to her forehead. "This is all so inscrutable. I don't know what to make of it. My head is reeling."

Jackson embraced her and stroked her hair as she began to weep. "I think you need some rest to recover from last night. I suggest we concentrate on you feeling better before trying to figure this out."

She sniffed, "You're right. I'm so tired I can't even think straight. I must have a fever. I'm burning up."

Jackson quickly disrobed. "Full size ice pack coming right up." He climbed into the bed and spooned with her. "How's that?"

"Mmm, better." She pulled his arm tighter around her and held his cool hand to her neck. "Will you stay with me?"

He nuzzled into her hair. "Always."

Jackson thought she had fallen asleep when she said, "Thank you for not saying I told you so."

"I'm much too happy to gloat."

He held her the whole time she slept. She didn't move for four hours, yet her body slowly returned to its normal temperature. When she finally woke, she stretched then turned to him. He brushed the hair off her face. "Feeling better?"

"Much."

"Want me to get you something to eat?"