Edward's Crib

[Edward Stanton]

Edward apparated into his home and gently laid Venus down onto his bed. "It's okay, you'll be okay." He brushed her hair back from her face then set about shrugging out of his coat. He tossed it on his chair and turned back to her. The next hour was rough as hell on him and he knew it wasn't easy on her. He knew that he was jarring her but he had to remove her clothing. He kept the sheet over her to keep her dignity but his attention was solely on the gaping wound on her side. Edward wiped the sweat on his forehead with his forearm, it took a long time to piece her back together. He had to use all of his magical medical training and even then he thought he'd have to take her St. Mungo's until the last of the blood was scourgified away and the jagged skin had pieced itself back together. Now she thankfully only had a dark pink line across her side that was rapidly fading.

The bed was clean, the sheets changed and he had slid Venus under the warm covers. He tried not to concentrate on how soft her skin was or on how she had the most perfect body he had ever seen. He left the room and came back with a small vial and a glass of water. Sitting beside her, he helped her sit up against the pillows. "Take this. How are you feeling?"

 

[Venus Fiorelli]

Venus felt the constant movement, her body was screaming for sanctuary but part of her knew that the hands that worked dilligently over her now were helping her and not hurting her. She felt her bare skin against the sheets and winced as he administered merlin only knew what to her side while she seemed to pass in and out of consciousness with the intensity of the pain. Eventually it seemed that too stopped, Venus did not know how long she was there for or how long in deed he worked on her for but soon he was helping her to sit back against the pillows.

She viewed him now from tired eyes, her hair felt matted and she knew she probably looked ghastly. Venus could no more take her eyes from him as he sat there. Her naked arms reached out for the glass of water he held for her, relief that she had no mark flooded through her. She took a sip before passing the glass back to him.

Her voice was alot clearer than what it had been earlier but still her voice held a note of tiredness to it ,"why ... why do you want to help me all the time?"she could have thanked him but that was not her way, she could have tried to be polite but even now as weak as she was Venus was being as nice and polite as anyone had ever seen her before.

 

[Edward Stanton]

Edward's mouth quirked. Even after going through that pain and who the hell knew what else, she was still full of spunk. His hand came out and he brushed her hair back from her face, his fingers trailing over her jaw before dropping down to his leg. "I want to help you, because it's what I do." He paused, unsure if he should say more then shrugged. Edward wasn't one to bare his feelings. Hell he wasn't even sure if he had feelings anymore. He'd gambled and lost twice in love. The second time more harsh than the first, as he'd watched her die horrifically in front of his eyes, had held her as she cursed his name while he tried to hold her guts in with his bare hands. "Just as long as you're okay, that's all that matters right?" He brought out his easy smile, one he used to mask everything inside him.

 

[Venus Fiorelli]

She did not flinch when his finger trailed over her chin though a part of her wanted to simply bite at his intrusive fingers and manner but she couldn't and wouldn't do that at least not yet. He was after rescuing her and if she seriously thought about it she had more or less wished for him. Be careful what you wish for she remonstrated herself.

Venus attempted to sit up a bit further in the bed but winced slightly while at the same time realized the sheet covering her had slipped a fraction. She was not shy about her figure at all, she had a damn fine one or at least she had. Without giving a fig that he was sitting on the bed watching her, Venus held the sheet out so she could look at her side. A pink scar wormed its way down it like a thin quill line.

"Pink, I hate the color pink" was her only retort, perhaps it would add character to what she had always considered her temple. She turned back to him again tucking the sheet about her loosely.
"Ok... so it is what you do. I get it. You're a ... an.. auror" she gazed at him for a moment wondering what he knew about her now, had he in his capacity as an auror gone to the trouble of checking her out. Venus' ego let her believe he most certainly had and she couldn't fault him on it.
"Do you bring everyone you try to save here?" she looked about her for a moment before looking back at him, "Where exactly is... here?"

 

[Edward Stanton]

Edward could have looked away. If he were any kind of a gentleman. As it was, he wasn't and had never claimed to be. His dark brown eyes narrowed as the sheet lifted and for the first time he caught sight of the smooth olive toned skin. Earlier he had been too focused on saving her life and cleaning the blood from her body to appreciate it. Not that he would have looked anyway, he wasn't that big of a skeevy perv. "It's not as bad as it could have been." He left the bed and pulled back the curtain in his room to peer down the street.

Turning back to her he crossed his arms over his chest. "Yes I'm an Auror," he nodded, confirming her suspicions. "I brought you here to save your life, it didn't cross my mind to take you to St. Mungo's. To an open hospital where anyone can go in and whoever gave you that scar could find you. Maybe finish what they started." He gave her a look that clearly said drop the attitude and use your brain. "This is my home, you're still in New Zealand. Now maybe you could tell me who did that to you and why the hell you were at Borely."

 

[Venus Fiorelli]

The pain was no longer intense, in fact she could no longer feel anything and knew she was not just talking about the scar now. Watching through veiled eyes as he finally moved from the bed, Venus listened as at the same time she tucked the sheet about her swiveling on the bed to slide her legs over the side where Edward had sat. With slight shaky movements she attempted to stand up, wrapping the sheet about her properly and looking about for her clothing. Not even looking at him this time she continued to look what would he say if she told him the truth? Would he subject her to some rigorous interrogation to get names of people she didn't even know?

"Well congratulations to you then Edward, you have saved my life. You are a great hero" her Italian accent seemed to make the words sound more of an insult than any compliment, Venus knew there was truth in what he said though they would have gone to Mungo's probably had gone there in fact to find her but they wouldn't, "I had no place else to go that was save. I saw that broken house and thought it save to spend the night or enough time to try to gain my strength".

She walked on unsteady legs about the room looking for her clothes becoming increasingly frustrated when she could not see them anywhere.
"I do not know who those particular people were that did this too me" she turned to finally look at him, her black hair tousled about her shoulders as her hands clasped the sheet too her, "but I know what they are. They are death eaters from my country, their mission most likely to search and destroy. I tend to bring out warm fussy feelings in people or have you not noticed?"

 

[Edward Stanton]

Death Eaters. His upper lip curled into a sneer before he could stop himself, he hated those disgusting parasites that plagued the wizarding world. Utterly foolish lot, moving about with no real purpose, no real mission other than to inbreed and terrorize those who could not help what blood they were born to. All under the guise of a dead and rotting corpse's mission. Edward wished he could round them all up; confine them to a massive room, shackled to chairs, their eyelids taped up so they could watch their transgressions on a projector screen. Deprogram them like the rabid dogs they were; Azkaban was too easy. They would only grow more dark, more obsessed within that band aid. They needed to face their demons, face those they had hunted and maimed and killed. Only then could they confront their crimes, confront themselves and see what foolishness following a dead man's edict was.

"I can protect you, Venus, if you would but let me." Edward spoke not only as an Auror, but as an honest man who was not prone to lie. Yes he did undercover work, but that was part of his job. Right here, right now, he was a man talking to a woman on the run, one too proud to admit to even the slightest of fear. Already he admired that fire within her, as it called to something within himself he had thought long dead. "You could stay here or at a friend of mine's," he offered, not wanting her to think he was making an inappropriate offer. "Would you let me do that for you?"

 

[Venus Fiorelli]

She continued to pad about the bedroom on bare feet, tripping over the edge of the sheet a few times and swearing loudly in Italian each time. His words were merely adding to her intensely growing frustration until finally she rounded on him.
"Fine! You can take care of me is that what you want?" she bellowed, holding the sheet tight to her and letting her dark orbs glower at him, "Why don't you just come out and admit that you are attracted to me. That you brought me here for your own ... " she floundered for the english word and not finding it resorted instead to Italian, "amusement."

She stamped a foot like a petulant child, one hand now resting on her hip.
"Just give me my damn clothes and let me go!"
What was she supposed to do allow him to put himself into danger because of her? She wasn't sure at all why she didn't want him in that predictament but simply knew that she didn't. Staying here with him as glorious as it might be, as save as she might ultimately feel had to be out of the question. Hadn't it?

 

[Edward Stanton]

Edward stalked to her, grabbing her shoulders in a firm yet gentle grip. "I am not some hormonal teenager or middle aged rapist who needs to take advantage here! Yes, I find you attractive. Who wouldn't?" he growled out. "I brought you here because you could have died! Can't get you that through your thick head?" Abruptly he stopped, stepped back and ran both hands through his hair. Hands falling to his sides, he let out a breath. "Look, your clothes were jacked beyond repair. I had to toss them. I can go and grab some from my friend's. Wait here, five minutes tops and I'll be back." Without waiting for her to agree, he disapparated from the room.

Moments later he returned with a bag.

(I left it open so she could have left or stayed. )

 

[Venus Fiorelli]

Venus watched as he approached her, his mood had changed swiftly as a result of her. His hands held her shoulders and for a moment she thought he would shake the life out of her instead he growled harshly at her. She had been well put in her place but refused to be mollified by any man. Holding her tongue seemed the only choice for now, she could apologize but that was beyond her as well. So her clothes were all gone, completely destroyed? She fumed inwardly not wanting to show him how vulnerable she was becoming with every word he spoke. What was she supposed to do now? No money, no clothes, no where to go? Edward kept talking but she was barely listening anymore, his hands long gone from shoulders she had not even felt them move. With a sudden crack he was gone and Venus looked about her quickly.

What in the world? She walked hastily through the various rooms not sure what it was she was looking for but realizing with every step that he had actually left her and that she had no where to go but here. Would it really be so bad to stay, to allow him to help her. He would have to know everything if that was the case and if it did that, then he wouldn't want her in his house for very long. She had seen how his face had nearly contorted at the mention of death eaters, what would he think of her for wanting to become one for years? Her heart slammed in her chest not knowing why his opinion of her mattered. She went back into the bedroom and lay herself down on the bed, gathering herself up into a ball she squeezed tightly on to a pillow and closed her eyes. Venus didn't fall asleep but listened very carefully for the sound of his return and when finally it did come, she sat slowly up on the bed still bunching the sheet tightly too her.

"I would like to stay Edward" as strong as she appeared to be she also now displayed a vulnerability that even in her wounded weakened state she had not, she had never had to rely on anyone else before, "If you will still let me."

 

[Edward Stanton]

Edward was exhausted and wanted to sleep for at least seven hours straight. He tossed the bag next to her on the bag and cleared his throat, crossing his arms over his chest. "Stay as long as you need. There's probably a month's worth of clothes in there, she had a lot of new things, you'll have to tear the tags from them." He shrugged. Cecily hadn't asked many questions, even though she hadn't seen him in person for over a year. They had owled each other once in a great while, more like the postcard service the muggles used. He'd stood in awkward silence as she muttered to herself, stuffing a bag full of everything from jeans and blouses to dresses and even hand fulls of new underclothing. He'd seen her roll her eyes and mutter about husband's not knowing the correct sizes of their own wives then stuff the bag with tagged items. Once she'd picked up the bag and shoved it into his arms with a knowing look in those sassy green eyes, he'd rolled his own then muttered his thanks and left.

"You can stay in here, I'll bunk on the couch." Edward picked up on her discomfort and knew that it had cost her a lot to battle that pride of hers and admit she needed his help. "Listen, Venus...on my word, you won't have to worry about anything from me, alright?" His voice had lowered and he cleared it again.

 

[Venus Fiorelli]

Venus heard the noise and looked up as he entered, catching the bag that he threw to her she held it close. Her eyes could not leave him, fear had taken hold of her when he had left. She was tired of running, tired of hiding and this man was so obviously tired of her. Pushing the bag aside the wild slip of a thing slid from the bed.
“Edward wait” she was at his side looking up at him, damn he would have to be so tall. It was like being eclipsed by a skyscraper.

She didn’t know what to say, politeness had never been her thing. How often had she been thrashed as a child because she had point blank refused to say simple things like please and thank you. One hand still gripping the sheet, she used the other to wrap around his waist as she lay her head against his chest. He was back and she felt safe. It was crazy and insane and all the other thousands of things that led to madness but it made a crazy kind of sense it’s own right.

“Thank you” for the first time in her life she uttered the words without being forced to do so, without being bullied or threatened, with simply gratitude for the man before her. Now how could she tell him that it was probably the other way around, that even if he lay on the couch with the best of intentions, what was to stop her from going to him there?

Standing back she looked down at her sheet and then at the bag before smiling up at him.
“I better put something else on then? What time is it?” her stomach growled slightly indicating that whatever time it was, it was well passed feeding time.