The Road Not Travelled

TITLE: The Road Not Travelled AUTHOR: Midknight CHAPTER: 5 of ? FANDOM: Buffy the Vampire Slayer SHIP: Xander / Faith RATING: NC-17 CATEGORY: Romance and Erotica SPOILERS: A couple, Season Three SYNOPSIS: What could have happened if Faith hadn't simply kicked Xander out of her room once she was done with him in the episode Zeppo DISCLAIMER: I do not own Buffy The Vampire Slayer. None of these characters belong to me. They belong to Josh Wedon and whoever else does. I pay homage to them and I make no profit from this story in any fashion, way or means. AUTHORS NOTE: I apologize before hand and hope you will forgive any errors or blatant discrepancies. FEEDBACK: Yes Please. It helps. It really, really helps. - midknight_tales@yahoo.com Chapter Five She had meant to get some more sleep, but as she lay on her bed, slumber remained elusive. She turned her head and buried her nose in the pillow next to her. She could still smell him. "Was this what people called smitten?" she wondered her fingers finding and playing with the alligator pendant he had given her. The cynical side of her nature told her it wouldn't last. Couldn't last. It was simply too good and good things didn't happen to Faith Williams. "But, he is good. Period and for me." the long lost voice of hope argued. She liked what was happening between her and Xander. She knew it had the potential to go very horribly wrong and there was a huge chance of her being the one to fuck it up, but for the first time in... ever she wanted to try. Her Watcher had rather emphatically impressed upon her the limited lifespan of a Slayer and when she had considered it against her life to that point, she had thought it a fair trade off for the power she had been given. Better to shine bright and go out in a blaze of glory than shuffle along in the gutter her life had become since she had run away from home. She had set expectations aside along time ago. She had once read somewhere that if you had no expectations, all your surprises would be good ones. She had taken that statement to heart and had lived it to the hilt. She had taken risks, taken whatever she wanted in fact and then the loss of her Watcher, fear and desperation had driven her here to Sunnydale. She hadn't really known there was any other way to live as a Slayer until she had met Buffy and her friends, and now there was Xander. She snorted into the silence of her bare motel room. It wasn't like she was dreaming of a white picket fence and Volvo and two and a half kids, but it might be nice to have something, someone to look forward to other than a violent death, granted in Sunnydale the two were by no means an exclusion of the other. Trying to sleep was pointless. She could feel nervous tension building in her as a simple worry nagged at the back of her mind: " What would Buffy and the rest think about her and Xander?" She had faith in Xander. She chuckled wryly at the thought as she rearranged the words out loud: "You had Xander in Faith, actually." They were a tight knit group and had been through a lot together and it surprised her that it wasn't so much the idea of them being against her relationship with Xander, people had been objecting to her for a long time and she'd kind of gotten used to it, as how that might affect him. Time was crawling and it felt like it was going to be an eternity before three o'clock, and in the day time hours she had very little to occupy herself with. She rose from the bed and got dressed in some sweats and a tank top, deciding to go for a run. The repetitive physical activity might take her mind off her nervousness and uncertainty. There was another repetitive physical activity that would have been much better, but... She should have tried harder to convince him to stay. She sighed and laced up her sneakers. She grabbed her keys and after locking her door, set off. She started off slow with no real destination in mind, but slowly picked up speed, pushing herself, happy to feel her muscles strain and have the wind in her face. She let her world narrow to the regulation of her breathing and the steady rhythm of putting one foot in front of the other. She ran long and hard and when she got back to her motel she was breathing hard and her muscles sang with the strain of heavy use. Faith stripped out of her damp sweats and took a quick shower. She smiled at the memories she had made in the cramped, dingy little shower stall a few hours previously. She dried off and put on a pair of panties and a comfortable, oversized t-shirt. She switched on her television set and then proceeded to pound it into giving something that resembled a watchable picture. She grabbed her box of Fruit Loops and sitting cross-legged on her bed ate her breakfast dry and straight from the box. There wasn't anything of interest on and changing the channel on the decrepit dinosaur of a set was a mission she didn't feel like tackling. She let out another sigh and reached over the side of the bed and, after a moments searching, found a magazine. She lay on her side and flicked through it, finding a headline here and there that piqued her interest, but couldn't quite keep her focus to finish any of the articles. She was usually very good at being by herself. She didn't really equate being alone as being lonely, but she simply wished Xander were there. She tossed the magazine to the floor and flopped onto her back. Her hand found the little pendant where it rested against her skin and toyed with it as she let her mind wander through the memories of the things she had experienced with Xander over the last few days. The sex was actually phenomenal, even with all her experience, but she seemed to dwell on his smile, his manner and what it felt like to lay in his arms and how all that made her feel and she felt herself relax and slowly, without knowing it she slid into a doze and after a few more minutes, with a soft smile on her face, fell asleep and memories turned to dreams. Faith woke slowly, eyes fluttering open to focus on the cracks in the ceiling above her. She felt a momentary pang of disappointment when she realized she wasn't in his arms as she had been in her dreams. She looked over at the clock on her nightstand and was glad to see it was well after one already and took consolation in the fact that it wouldn't be too long before she would be seeing him again. The thought was amusing, thrilling and frightening to her. She sat up and stretched, rocking slightly from side to side to maximize the stretch. She scratched her stomach and then got up off the bed. She chose blue jeans instead of her trademark leather pants. She considered her selection of t-shirts and tank tops, but in the end decided on the most conservative blouse she owned. She slipped into her boots to finish the ensemble. She stood in front of the mirror, studying herself trying to find anything the Scoobies might find objectionable. She knew her look wouldn't matter, but it was something she could control, and that was something she desperately needed in this particular situation. She could feel the slow, cold twist of worry in her gut growing. "I can still run. Just, pack my duffel and be on a bus out of Sunnydale in fifteen minutes." She thought as she fussed with her hair. She felt the slight weight of the pendant on the skin of her chest and dismissed the idea. She hadn't felt this nervous since she'd had to face her first vampire. She looked at the clock. A very sow walk would bet her to the library only a little early and maybe a few minutes alone with Xander would settle the hummingbirds in her stomach by some small degree. She stared at herself in the mirror, studying her dark brown eyes. "You can do this." She told herself, grabbed her jacket and left. She was glad to find him waiting for her at the entrance to the school. She liked the way his face lit up when he saw her and felt her cheeks tighten as she smiled broadly. She didn't really consider the implications when she pressed herself against him and slid her arm around his neck and pulled his head down into a kiss, but simply luxuriated into it and the feel of his strong arms wrapping around her as he returned it. A wolf whistle caused them to almost jump apart and one of the students in a passing car shouted at them to get a room. Faith flipped him off. "Well... That's one way to let the cat out of the bag." Xander commented with a grin and she shrugged. "C'mon, they're all in the library hitting the books in research mode." He suggested gesturing to the entrance to the school with his head. He took her hand and started off. Their joined arms were almost fully extended before she started to move. He allowed her to trail behind him for a few steps and then with a gentle tug urged her next to him. "It'll be okay." He told her just before he opened the door to the library and ushered her inside. They were all there, including Cordelia, Xander's ex and they all looked up and greeted in their various ways: Giles, was English formal, Willow was open and cheerful, Oz was a simple smile and wave, Buffy was a studied neutral and Cordelia an annoyed acknowledgement. Willow was the first to frown as they stopped at the table the others surrounded. Xander had not let go of her hand. "Xander and I are dating." Faith blurted out, shocking herself and causing Xander to look at her in surprise. She had to concentrate hard to keep her feet from moving as the urge to run boiled up inside her as she watched the assembled group absorb her rather blunt proclamation. Xander squeezed her hand and moved just a little closer to her, his solid bulk somehow comforting. Cordelia was the first to truly react. She laughed as if she had heard the greatest joke in the world. "You and him. Really? How much is he paying you?" She chortled with malicious glee. Faith's spine stiffened and her free hand clenched into a fist. Easy... It's just Cordy being Cordy." He whispered into her ear and she expelled a slow breath and unclenched her fist. She narrowed her eyes for a moment. "Yes, Cordelia. Him and me. He decided to graduate to a real woman and leave spoiled little girls behind." Faith told her, letting just a hint of condisending amusement color her tone before she snaked her hand around Xander's neck and shifted onto the tips of her toes to give him a deep, slow kiss. He tensed for a moment and then returned her kiss, adding the final touch to her little game by fondling her ass. "Burn." Oz said with his customarily stoic tone and Cordelia sputtered a few half-started rebuttals and then simple got up and stormed from the library. He kept his face near hers when they broke their kiss. "Subtle." He whispered to her. "Did I beat her to a bloody pulp?" she asked archly. "You have a point their. I have to agree with Oz though, that was a fifth degree burn." He stated. "Thanks." She accepted his statement as a compliment and winked before turning her attention back to the Scoobies. While they had been having their whispered little conversation the rest of the gang had been handing Willow cash. The last of these was Giles, from who she had to almost pry the bills from his fingers while he muttered the word: "Bugger" under his breath. "What's this?" Xander asked. "Oh... Nothing much. You two have just pretty much bought me a new pair of boots. Thank you, by the way." Willow answered as she counted her newfound riches. "You knew?" Faith enquired, settling onto the edge of the table while Xander stood next to her. "We all did." Buffy piped up. "What?" Faith and Xander exclaimed in stereo. "Oh come on. You two have been grinning like crazies for the last few days and you touch all the time." Buffy noted. "No we don't." Faith countered, surreptitiously moving her fingers away from the back of Xander's hand. "Besides ever since you got here, you've had like a personal space bubble around you and Xander the only one you've let in it. "Oh..." Faith commented a little disappointed that even short lived their subterfuge had been a dismal failure. "So why did you all pay, Willow?" she asked. "I bet that you would be the one to tell us." Willow explained. Faith raised an eyebrow. "What did the rest of them bet?" she enquired and there was suddenly a lot of throat clearing and undue interest in the books on the table. "Hmmmmm..." she commented pointedly and crossing her arms over her chest, as there seemed to be no answer forthcoming. Giles took off his glasses cleaned them and then put them back on. "Well now that, that's more or less settled, shall we get back to the business of saving the world?" he asked rhetorically. Faith took a seat next to Xander and they spent the next few hours trying to find information on why there was a sudden pick-up in serious attempts to open the Hellmouth. They didn't make too much headway by the time the sun had gone down And they had to go on patrol. "I take it Xander will be patrolling with Faith, so will you, Willow and Oz take the cemetery on Cedar Lane, while they take the one on at Terrace Lake?" Giles suggested to Buffy. "Sounds like a plan." She agreed, getting up and heading for the weapon's cabinet. "You two will be... careful. Won't you?" Giles told them, resting a hand on each of their shoulders and Faith had the very distinct impression that he was talking about just more then their patrol. "Always." Faith acknowledged simply and Xander gave a curt nod. "Good." He said with a warm smile and a soft squeeze to her shoulder before moving off. She felt a strange sense of delight at Giles' fatherly concern that blanketed both Xander and herself. The idea that Buffy and the rest, besides Cordelia who didn't particularly matter, were okay with her and Xander's fledgling relationship was just starting register and she couldn't quite keep the smile off her face as the hummingbirds in her stomach finally stilled. She did wonder however just how much the gang knew about what she and Xander had been doing. Xander left to grab a crossbow and their gear and she was suddenly flanked by Buffy and Willow. "Ahhhhh the other shoe." She thought pessimistically. "His a good guy and if, God forbid, you hurt him, I'll let Willow finish off what's left of you." Buffy informed her with a cordial, conversational smile. "And, if, for whatever reason, he might hurt you, please try not to kill or otherwise permanently maim him." Willow added. "You two practice that?" she asked. "A little." Buffy admitted. "Forced?" Willow enquired. "No... You did well, just the right balance of scary threat and friendly support. I didn't go looking for this and it's really new to me, but I will try my best not to fuck it up. I can make no other promise than that." She informed them a little surprised that she had so easily admitted her insecurities to them, but it seemed like the right thing to do in the moment. "The best is pretty much all we can ever do." Buffy told her patting her on the shoulder before moving off. "If you need to talk, you know where to find me. I might not know much about relationships either, but I'm a good listener." Willow offered and her quick, warm hug caught her off guard and she didn't even have a chance to return it before the red-haired Wicca moved off. Oz paused next to her. "I could smell each of you on the other. I didn't tell anyone. You compliment each other. He told her in his calm, steady laconic voice. "Don't over think it, just let it happen." He advised her and like Willow, Oz he moved off before she could respond. Faith was starting to feel overwhelmed by the unfamiliar feeling of belonging that enveloped her. Amongst other people she had generally felt, at best, either tolerated and at worst, used. She would have settled for toleration if it meant she could continue the journey she had begun with Xander, she actually felt that they cared for her side of this as much as his, that they cared about her. "You okay? You looked a bit...far away just then." Xander asked as the group filed out. "I'm okay... More than actually. Just thinking about what I'd like to do to you when I get you back to my place after patrol or was it what I'd like you to do to me? I can't remember." She covered. "I'm coming to your place after we patrol?" he asked with a frown. "Yes... I thought... What? You don't want to? Sorry... You have plans. I mean... I assumed... I should have asked... Sorry." She sputtered, suddenly feeling flustered. "Easy there. Breathe. I was just yanking your chain." He told her pulling her into his arms and against his chest. "Bastard." She whispered into his slowly rising and falling chest, but made no move to break from his embrace. She was glad that the rest of the gang had left before her little meltdown. After a little while he let go and held her at arms length with one hand on her shoulder and used the other to lightly lift her chin until their eyes met. "You really need to relax a little. I want to be with you, spend time with you. My plans will involve you and if they don't I'll tell you about them. You're my girlfriend, Faith. Get it, got it, good." He informed her, keeping his eyes locked with hers so that she could see the truth in them. One word stood out and made her heart flutter. "No one's ever call me that before." She admitted. "And, that means I have a boyfriend, doesn't it?" she asked in awe, the thought, the idea blooming in her mind as a surprising, soft, fuzzy feeling. "Now you're getting the hang of it." He smiled and she laughed, a deep, throaty peal of joy. "Let's get on with our patrol. I just remembered what I'd like you to do to me after." She suggested with a slow saucy wink. "Yes, M'am." He replied with a grin and she couldn't resist adding just a little extra sway to her hips as she led the way out of the library, knowing he was watching her ass. Their patrol was uneventful, as uneventful as dusting four vamps could be at any rate. She got three and he finished off the fourth and they made one more circuit of the cemetery before calling it a night. "You need to train with me, Xander." She told him as they headed to her motel. "And, what benefit would I get from that besides seeing you all hot and sweaty?" he asked playfully. "You'd become a better fighter, get hurt less. Stand a better chance of surviving. I'm starting to become kind of accustomed to having you around and I'd like to keep it that way." She explained, voicing her concern. "I guess spending more time with you with our clothes on might not be such a bad idea." He conceded. "We can always wrestle in the nude if you like." She quipped playfully. "That's a plan." He grinned and she grinned back. She linked her arm with his, pulling herself closer to him and then rested her head on his shoulder as they walked. She'd seen it in some movie and had always wondered what it might feel like. It felt good and even better when the off-color or playful comment she half-expected him to make didn't materialize, and they enjoyed rest of the walk back to her place in comfortable silence. At, her door, she turned and pressed her back to it and pulled him toward her. Faith hooked a hand behind his head, twining her fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck and pulled him down into a passionate kiss. They tilted their heads, lips sliding into a fierce lip lock as he pressed his solid form against hers, pinning her between his heat and the cool surface of the door. She slid the inside of her thigh up along the outside of his until she was grinding against him. They both made murmur sounds of appreciation, lips vibrating against each other as tongues dueled. They broke the kiss by mutual breathless consent and he gave her the space to turn around. She unlocked her door and walked in, flicking on the lights and trusting him to follow. She shrugged off her jacket, kicked off her boots, stripped off her blouse and then her bra. Her jeans were a bit of a challenge, but she managed to maintain her balance as she shucked out of them, and then her panties, crawling onto her bed, naked at the end of a trail of discarded clothes. On all fours, her buttocks and sex openly on display, she tossed her hair back and to the side and looked over her shoulder to find him still standing by the closed door, simply staring. She could see awe, desire and speculation in his gaze and it heated her skin and stepped her arousal up another notch, making her nipples tingle as they grew even harder and her sex moistening in anticipation. She flashed him a best come hither look. "I think you know what I'd like you to do to me... don't you?" she asked, slowly letting her hind quarters sway from side to side in seductive invitation. She saw his Adam's apple bob up and down as he swallowed. "Damn!" he commented, dragging the word out in a soft tone of awe as he dropped his jacket to the floor. "I believe I have a fairly good idea." He acknowledged, kicking off his boots and socks with one hand on the doorframe to steady himself and a knowing smile quirking his lips. "That's good. Now, Xander Harris, would you like to explain to me what you're still doing all the way over on that side of the room?" she asked with an impatiently arched eyebrow. "Just enjoying the view, Faith..." he paused with his t-shirt drawn up to his chest and snorted. "What is your last name?" he asked, frowning, just realizing he didn't know it. She tossed a taunting little chuckle of her shoulder. "Wouldn't you like to know?" she teased, wetting her lips with the pink tip of her tongue. He removed his t-shirt and tossed it at her, missing and she chuckled again. "I would, that's why I asked, don't you know?" He informed her as, undoing his belt, he finally started to move toward her, hunger growing in his eyes and she could see the well-defined bulge shift and grow in the front of his jeans. "What will you give me if I tell you?" she asked, enjoying the little game they had spontaneously started. He paused, stroking his chin in an exaggerated show of consideration and then dug in his pockets. "Twelve bucks, seventy-five cents, a pack of Juicy Fruit and some lint." He offered, continuing his slow advance. "Not enough. I think you can do better." She negotiated, becoming very aware that he was now only inches from her and she could feel the itch of need growing in her core. "Twelve bucks, seventy-five cents, a pack of Juicy Fruit, some lint and... this." He countered and she let her head drop as she felt his hands on her buttocks and then his warm tongue rasped across her clit and through her wet swollen folds making her groan as a shiver of pleasure ran up her spine. She could feel his breath, hot on her sex, but his tongue didn't make its pleasurable presence felt again as the moment stretched out. "I accept, that definitely works for me. My last name's Lehane. I'm Faith Lehane and I'm very pleased to meet you." She capitulated, giving up the game. She couldn't see his face, but would have bet good money he had a smug grin on it. She didn't begrudge him his victory because she didn't feel like she was losing at all as after he said: "Please to meet you too." She again felt his wonderful tongue lapping at her sex with long, delving, deft strokes. Waves of delight swept into her as he worked his agile tongue over her dewy petals and on and around the exposed pearl of her clit. His strong hands caressed, fondled and massages her buttocks and thighs with warm, firm pressure and she rocked back against them and his talented mouth. "God. Xander, that feels so good." She moaned, her forehead sinking onto the covers, her hair cascading down around her to shroud her in its darkness. He was good; he had a hidden talent for this. She knew he didn't have much experience, but he seemed to know just what she liked and how best to give it to her. For, one very odd moment, she found herself feeling pity for Cordelia who had been with Xander for months and yet, had never got to experience this pleasurable gift from him. All thoughts of Cordelia were wiped from her mind by a heavy surge of pleasure as he suckled at her clit and the sensitive flesh around it. She could feel a delicious tightening in the pit of her stomach as his oral attention and the tactile barrage of his hands added lightning to the thunderstorm of her building climax. But, still she wanted more; wanted him inside her; wanted to feel him fill and stretch her as he forged his way through her intimate flesh to pierce her core and she told him so. Told him so and almost pleaded with him, shocked by the frantic desperation and need in her voice. "Faith, you taste like heaven and smell like paradise. I could do this all night long, but I know what you mean." He told her, his voice low and tight with desire. She felt him shift behind her and plant a light kiss on each of her ass cheeks and then his lips and hands were gone. The sound of his zipper lowering was strangely loud and she felt like some perverse version of Pavlov's dog as the sound caused her sex to clench, flex and flood hot with slippery cream. She made the effort to lift her head and grabbed the pillows from the head of the bed, stuffing them under her chest and belly for support, not sure she could trust her arms to hold her in position. She felt a hand on her hip and then the pointed head of his cock as he guided it between her swollen labia, through her slick folds and positioned himself at her entrance. He gripped her other hip as well and then she gasped and then let out a long, drawn out moan, and he grunted as he pulled her back and thrust forward and except for a little stutter at the end, slid all the way into her in a single stroke. He drove a fiery trail through her tight flesh with unrelenting masculine power that seemed to ignite her slippery sex grease and fire up the furnace at her core. He ground into her and she pushed back onto him as she adjusted to his complete and thorough invasion, her sex squeezing and clenching around his shaft, testing the resilience of his rock hard manhood. His hands slid from her hips up along her back, strong fingers massaging her muscles as they slid along her skin to her shoulders. Some of his weight settled, solid and warm on her back as he leaned forward and she felt him brush aside her hair, his fingertips shifting the chain he had given her and causing the pendant to tickle her cleavage before kiss the nape of her neck. She sighed her approval as he nuzzled at her skin and she could feel him throbbing against the walls of her snatch. "I don't think I will ever get over that, when I slide into you for the first time. It always feels like a dream, a little too good to be real. I'm almost a little scared I will wake up." He admitted softly into the shell of her ear. She turned her head until she could just barely see in out of the corner of her eye. "It's real, Xander. So very, very real and so very, very good." She reassured him and slowly began to rock back and forth until he picked up her rhythm. His hands slid from the rounded curve of her shoulders to either side of her neck as he lengthened their strokes and then he was pulling and she was pushing back to bring them colliding together with the slap of skin on skin. They found a steady pace and strained together in a thrusting, rolling, grinding, pounding journey in search of pleasure and the release its build up would bring. They encouraged and praised each other's efforts until words became to hard to form and sounds of animal gratification replaced them as they grunted, groaned, moaned, gasped and panted their need, desire and enjoyment. Each thrust, driving his thick, hard, long shaft into her molten core and the grinding of flesh against flesh that followed the impact of their collision sent shockwave into her firm buttocks and up her spine carrying sweet rippling jolts of delight with it. Her breasts slid along the material of the pillows, her nipples growing hot and tingly with the friction. He started to thrust harder and faster and she was grateful for the support of the pillows, making it easier to brace herself and return his ardor as she felt her arms start to tremble with the strain. The tightly wound spring in the pit of her stomach continued to tighten by measured increments, growing more and more tense as it absorbed and stored the delectable energy they were creating between them. She felt her belly begin to quiver as that spring neared the limit of its capacity, straining, shuddering with the effort of containing her imminent climax. She started to pant, fast and shallow, licking her lips to wet them and swallowing convulsively to draw moisture into her throat made dry by sucking in air through he wide open mouth. She him grunt and groan above her, his breath a steam engine hiss in her ears. She could feel his strain for control in the flexing grip of his fingers on her shoulders and the lapses in their synchronicity as muscles started to misfire with the over stimulation of nerves. She felt the spring slip, just a slight hitch as it was pushed a turn too far and then she cried out as it unraveled and flooded her with all its pent up energy in the form of white-hot blasts of pure, unadulterated pleasure. Her back arched and it felt like she was going to crack her spine as electric fingers of blissful sensation ran along its length. Her sex flooded and her channel locked, clenching tight in an attempt to dam the flow, bearing down on this thick, throbbing shaft, squeezing it, trying to crush it in its unrelenting death grip only to find it hard, defiant and resistant. Not, content to merely weather her orgasmic assault, his cock swelled, pressing back against her grip and then jerked and pulsed, hosing her blazing centre with heavy spurts of liquid heat that was his seed and howled his release to the cracked and peeling ceiling. Sparks danced across the inside of her eyelids as they fluttered closed and her blood sang to the beat of her racing heart in her ears. Her body softened slightly, relaxing for a moment only to tense once more as aftershocks frazzled already over-stimulate flesh and nerves. He sounded like a bellows above her and then he collapsed to the side, pulling her with him. They groaned in unison as he shifted inside her and she hugged the pillows to her, drawing up her legs as he wrapped his arms around her and spooned against her back. She twitched slightly in his embrace as the last echoes of her climax worked its way through her and she felt him shudder against her back as he emptied himself into her. She felt him soften and her snatch made a final clutching attempt to keep him inside her, but nature took its course and he shrank and slid out of her. He kissed her shoulder, his heavy breath hot and tickling against her skin. She could feel sweat trickle and slide along her skin, hot, wet and slippery where it was trapped between his chest and torso and her back. She found his hand and twined her fingers with his. "Xander? Have you been cheating on me, practicing with someone else? Because, you're becoming really good at that," Faith asked rhetorically as a means of complimenting him. "No, I've just had a really exquisite, beautiful and inspiring instructor." He answered anyway. "Ooooooo, good answer." She noted. "True too." He reiterated and snuggled more firmly against her. "Hmmmm. You smell good." He murmured behind her and she could hear the lassitude in his voice that she felt settling on her sated body after their pleasurable exertion. "You feel good." She sighed, squeezing his hand, as her eyes grew heavy even as her heart grew light and they drifted off to sleep. TO BE CONTINUED?