| Chapter 65 The next several days seemed to meld into one another. Mason had gone back to Interstellar and after some convincing of his loyalty was allowed to return. He and Nick spoke often about the goings on in the company. Nick had released Devon, knowing now that he was protecting Mason. He advised him to find other employment and told him he would be under surveillance. Nick didn't trust him, no matter how much he apologized, and having him in the palace with Marie and Brian was unnerving. Nick had contacted Tom and Tamara, telling them to drop their search for what happened to him and concentrate all their efforts on Interstellar. He wanted to know where the Krystal was being manufactured and shipped from. Wanted to know how it was made, what was in it, and if there was an �antidote'. Every poison has a cure, so why couldn't Krystal? They promised to get back with him soon, both wondering why he'd given up the search for what happened to him, but neither one wanted to ask. The council sessions had started again, much to Nick's dismay. He wanted to spend more time with Brian, but alas duty calls. He brought Anthony in as an assistant, giving him several duties. He wanted the boy to get as much experience as he could, just in case. Nick had noticed the iciness between Mason and Anthony had lifted somewhat, and was extremely relieved about it. His day consisted of his morning exercise, followed by the council sessions, after which he would go and sit with Brian. He still hadn't woke up yet, though his vitals were almost back to normal and his fever was down. The guys had once again busied themselves around the palace. They each spent a lot of time in Brian's room, but they could only take so much. None of them knew how Marie stayed day after day, refusing to leave for more than a few minutes at a time. Ana had taken to staying most of the time with her and had gotten her to open up a little. Most of the time she acted as if nothing was wrong, but Ana could see how much pain she carried. Marie had put all her effort into Brian, and had not dealt with the loss of her child yet. Ana knew that she was waiting for Brian to wake up, so they could both grieve together. But the loss was eating her up inside. ~~~~ Ana took her attention from the vid and looked over at Marie. She was sitting next to Brian's bed, quietly reading him a magazine. She held Brian's hand as she read the pages, describing the pictures as she went. After a moment Marie felt her eyes and looked up, "What?" Ana smiled, shaking her head, "You. You amaze me." Marie put the magazine down and sighed, "I'm not that amazing." "Yes you are. You've been here for nine days straight. I'd have gone crazy by now," Ana smiled. Marie looked down at Brian's face, "I have to be here. He's my life." Ana watched as she brushed the curls from Brian's forehead before looking back up at her, "Besides, if this was Nick, you know you'd do the same thing." Ana blushed, looking around to make sure no one was within hearing distance of them. When she was satisfied they weren't, she got up and walked around the bed, sitting next to her friend. "You're right I would do the same thing," she whispered, a smile forming on her face. Marie studied her friend, then nudged her, "There something you aren't telling me?" Suddenly Ana had a guilty expression on her face, looking down at the floor. Marie laughed, "There is isn't there? What is it, you know I won't say anything." Ana couldn't help but smile at her friends curiosity. "Come on Ana, spill," Marie prodded. Ana rolled her eyes and took one more look around just for good measure. "Nick and I um ... well we ...." she stammered, her face turning ten different shades of red. Marie clasped a hand over her mouth, "You did it?" she asked. Ana nodded, trying not to smile, but not having any success at it. "When?" Marie asked. "The day before the ceremony," Ana answered, "And a few times since," she added with a giggle. Marie arched her eyebrow, snickering, "Ohh, Bri and I are gonna have competition huh?" Ana laughed, shaking her head, "Oh God, you did not just say that." "Ana!" Marie said, shocked at her expression. Ana's eyes grew wide, "I've really been hanging around Nick to long. I didn't even know I said it until it was out of my mouth." Marie giggled, "Yup, sound's like Nick." "What sounds like me?" Nick asked, walking into the room. Both girls jumped, then glanced at each other and laughed. Nick watched them with amusement as Ana blushed profusely and Marie laughed at her. "Well, I dunno what I missed, but it must've been good," he laughed, walking to the bed and sitting on the edge. He took Brian's hand in his, "Hey Bri, you gotta wake up and tell me what they said. My ears are burning." "Your what are burning?" Ana and Marie both asked. "My ears," Nick said, "It's an expression. Means um, like I know you were talking about me." "Ohh," they both replied, then quickly fell into the giggles again. Nick shook his head, turning his attention back to Brian. "When are they gonna take him off the ventilator?" he asked. Marie cleared her throat, "Um, I'm not sure. I think they want to wait until he's awake for a few days." "How was council?" Ana asked. He shrugged, "The same, It gets mundane after a while." "That why you got Anthony in on it?" she asked. "Yeah, he alleviates the boredom," Nick smiled, "His reactions to everything are interesting to watch." "I bet," Ana said. Silence filled the room for a moment as Nick and Ana became aware they were being stared at. Both looked in Marie's direction, seeing her smiling at them. Nick looked at Ana, lowering his voice to just barely a whisper, "You tell her?" Ana bit her lip and smiled, causing Nick to blush just as much as she had been. Marie laughed at them both, "Young love, isn't it grand?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mason watched the store fronts pass by as his carriage meandered down the street. He sighed, as it stopped in front of his destination. Getting out he took in the large office building, then made his way inside. He paid no attention to the secretary as he passed her, just like he'd done a thousand times before. He caught the elevator and rode to the top floor, stepping off and entering the only office there. A young man looked up from his desk and smiled, "He's expecting you Count DeGrafe, go on in." Mason nodded, walking to the huge double doors and stepping inside. "You're late," came a voice from behind the desk. Mason sat down in a chair across from the desk, "Council session went over, couldn't be helped." "I see, so how is the king these days?" the man asked, disdain in his voice. "Annoying as always," Mason replied. The man turned his chair around and faced Mason, "I'm not happy with this situation. His friend should have never lived, let alone stop the ceremony. Hatch's incarceration is deplorable, and I will not be told where my ships can and cannot be by anyone!" Mason sighed, staring at the man, "Nickolas doesn't do what you expect. Somehow he's always coming up with something new. I never expected he'd put Kholath under his protection." "Well he has, so what are we to do about it?" the man seethed. Mason shifted uncomfortably in his seat, "I can speak with him. Try to change his mind." The man shook his head, "I'm tired of talking. I want action." "Such as?" Mason asked. The man grinned, sending chills down Mason back, "I've got a little surprise brewing. May be just what we need." "Ohh, what kind of surprise?" Mason asked, deeply interested. The man waved his hand, "It's of no concern to you. You will know when it happens." Mason nodded, knowing better than to push the man for an explanation. He watched as the man leaned back in his oversized chair and laced his fingers over his large chest, "I hear you're staying in the palace now. Care to tell me what that's about?" Mason nonchalantly leaned back, "I seem to have gained favor with the queen. She asked that I stay. I believe she misses her husband, and finds comfort in having family near. Either way, it offers me the opportunity to stay close to the king, find out what his plans are, maybe gain some information that would be useful for us." The man stared at him for a long moment before he spoke, "Count Degrafe, do you believe your nephew to be the fulfillment of the prophecy?" Mason was taken aback by the question, but quickly covered it, "Some believe him to be. I'm not sure." "We can't have that prophecy come to pass, you understand that don't you?" he asked. Mason scoffed, "Of course." "Good, I'm glad we're on the same page. See you soon," the man said, turning his chair back around. Mason got up and headed out of the office, glad to be leaving. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Hey girly," A.J. said, walking into the room. Marie smiled, "Hey." A.J. plopped down next to her, looking over at Brian, "Still sleepin huh?" She nodded. He took her hand and smiled, "It can't be much longer. I mean how much can a person sleep anyway?" She smiled, "I hope you're right." "Trust me," he grinned, "I know these things." "Don't believe a word he says," Kevin teased, coming in. "Hey now old man!" A.J. protested. Kevin raised his eyebrows, "Old? I am not old." A.J. leaned close to Marie, "That's what old people say." She laughed, looking up at Kevin. "Yeah yeah, just wait Bone. You'll be old someday," Kevin chuckled, sitting on the edge of the bed, "Ain't that right Bri?" "Kev, I don't think he's gonna answer ya," A.J. said. "He might, never know. He's probably tired of hearing your sorry ass voice anyway," the older man teased. "Sorry ass voice? I have you know my voice is sexy," A.J. protested. This caused both Marie and Kevin to double over with laughter. "Yeah, laugh it up. You know it's true," A.J. smiled. Kevin suddenly stopped laughing, feeling pressure on his hand. He looked down and watched Brian's hand in his. Slowly, deliberately his fingers closed around his hand and squeezed. "Oh my God! Bri? Bri, open your eyes!" Kevin pleaded. Marie and A.J. quickly moved to the bed. "What is it?" A.J. asked. Kevin looked at them, tears in his eyes, "He just squeezed my hand." "Alex, go get Cameron," Marie instructed, sitting on the other side and taking Brian's other hand in hers. A.J. ran from the room in search of the doctor. "Brian? Baby, can you hear me?" she asked, searching his face. Slowly she felt his fingers close around her hand. "Oh baby, please open your eyes," she cried, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. "Come on Brian, open em, you can do it," Kevin urged. Time seemed to stand still as the two watched his face, praying his eyes would open to the two seas of blue they loved so much. Marie almost screamed when Brian scrunched up his nose and moved his head to the side. "Come on cuz," Kevin pleaded. Marie leaned closer to his face, gently stroking his cheek, "Brian, it's time to wake up honey." Ever so slowly his eyes opened. He blinked a few times before his eyelids fell shut again. Marie smiled, "You always were hard to wake up. Come on baby, look at me." Brian fought to open his eyes once more. His vision was blurry and he wasn't sure where he was. He blinked a few times, his vision clearing. Marie was there, smiling at him through her tears. He stared at her for a moment, wondering if he was still dreaming. He tried to talk, but couldn't, becoming frightened and squeezing her hand tighter. "Shhh, it's alright," she soothed, "You're on a ventilator, that's why you can't speak." Brian felt the tears leave his eyes, running hot down the side of his face. He tried to reach up, wanting to hold her in his arms, but was to weak. His arms only making it a short distance before falling back to the bed. Marie leaned down, scooping him into her arms and holding him tight, "I love you so much," she whispered. Brian wanted so much to wrap his arms around her, tell her how much he loved her, but the only thing he could do was relax in her embrace. He glanced over, seeing Kevin sitting next to him smiling like the Cheshire cat and wiping away his own tears. Marie finally relinquished her hold on him, moving so Kevin could lean down and hug him. "I'm so glad your back Bri," he said, his voice breaking. After Kevin released him, Brian moved his hand to Marie's taking it in his. All he could do was stare at her, thanking God in his heart that they were back together. A.J. and Cameron came into the room, stopping in their tracks as Brian stared at them. Cameron smiled, walking over, "Good to see you awake Brian. Are you in any pain?" Slowly Brian shook his head. "Good, you've had us all a little worried," Cameron admitted, as he checked over Brian's monitors, "I'll be back in a little while. Call me if he starts hurting before it's time for his next dose." Marie nodded, as Cameron left the room. "Dude, you have no fucking idea how glad I am to see you!" A.J. smiled. Brian tried to smile, but found it hard with the tubes in his mouth. He lifted his hand a little from the bed and pointed at A.J. A.J. grinned, "See he's glad to see me too!" Kevin glanced over his shoulder at the younger man, "I think he was pointing at the door. As in, you annoy me, get out," he teased. Marie giggled, watching Brian as he tried to laugh, but couldn't. A.J. flipped Kevin the bird and walked over next to Marie, "You weren't kicking me out where ya?" Brian stared at him for a moment, a mischievous look appeared in his eyes as he nodded. Kevin and Maire burst out laughing at the shocked look on A.J.'s face. After a moment he realized Brian was joking with him, and laughed, "Yup Rok, you're definitely back. I'll go find D and Nicky, let them know the good news." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mason walked around a corner, seeing Nick, Howie and A.J. hurrying down the hall. He ran to catch up, "Nickolas, can I speak with you?" Nick stopped, turning around, "Can it wait? Brian just woke up." Mason shook his head, "No, it's important." Nick sighed, turning back to the guys, "Go on, I'll be there in a minute." Howie put his hand on Nick's shoulder, "Don't let him keep you to long." Nick smiled, "I won't, promise." He watched as the two hurried on down the hall towards the medical ward. "I won't take long," Mason started, speaking in a whisper, "I just needed to warn you." Nick turned to face him, "Warn me?" "Yes, the higher ups in Interstellar are planning something. A surprise for you, they said," Mason whispered. "What kind of surprise?" Nick asked, not sure he wanted to know the answer. His uncle shook his head, "I don't know. They wouldn't tell me, and I couldn't ask without raising their suspicion. Just be careful. Keep Rowland with you, even in the palace." Nick ran his hand though his hair, "I can't keep him with me all the time, but I'll be careful. Thanks," he said, turning to go down the hall. Mason watched him go, frightened for his safety. Chapter 66 |