Chapter Text
Ava’s sore when she wakes up. Her head and chest throb with every pump of blood through her body. And her mouth is so very, very dry. She cracks her eyes open, but it’s too dim to see. She tries to speak, but makes only a croaking sound. She moves her hands to feel if there’s anyone next to her, and bumps against someone’s knee.
“Ava, darling!” Beatrice jolts upright at her touch. She lights a few more candles and takes her hand. They’re in a room Ava doesn’t recognize.
“Don’t do too much, Vincent shot you. The surgeon said you’ll make a full recovery but you have to stay still.” Ava tries to speak again, but croaks ever more loudly than before. Beatrice gently holds a cup of water to her lips as she gulps it down greedily. No longer parched but still fuzzy headed Ava asks brokenly,
“Three? Three shots?” Beatrice nods.
“One for you, one for Suzanne—she’s fine, he barely grazed her because she followed you to the ground. And one for him between the eyes, from Mary.” Ava nods, satisfied.
“Adriel?”
“The binding still holds. We did it.” Ava grins.
“How long was I asleep?”
“It’s been about a week. You channeled a lot to Suzanne, and you used a lot to stay alive after you were shot.” Ava feels a bit queasy about that and starts to wiggle her toes. Thankfully, she still has full control over them. Beatrice notices and kisses her palm.
“It was a lot, but you did well. You didn’t cross your threshold. Your attunement was very strong” Ava breathes a sigh of relief and blushes a little pink at the praise.
“Can I get up at all? I want to see everyone.”
“Not till the surgeon comes back tomorrow. You’re in Vincent’s old room—all his stuff is gone, of course, but when morning comes we’ll keep the door open so you feel closer.” Ava’s satisfied by that and nods. She takes a close look at her sweetheart and notices the deep bags under her eyes.
“Honey-Bea, when was the last time you slept?”
“I catch a few hours every now and then when someone comes to sit with you. But I’d rather be here with you.”
“Why on earth are you still not sleeping in beds with me? Come here.” Ava tugs weakly on Beatrice’s arm, trying not to agitate any stitches. Beatrice smiles and presses a kiss to her nose as she stands, adjusting her pillows and positioning so there would be room for her in the bed as well. She eases down into the bed beside her and both drop immediately into peaceful, dreamless sleep.
Traditional or not, Ava decides that the best time to build a house in Appalachia is late September. Ava knows this because it’s the time that Beatrice, Mary, and Camila all join efforts to repair the damage done to the houses at the Cat’s Cradle and build another, third home on the property. It’s going to be a lovely fall, Ava thinks as she steps onto the back porch with a tray of lemonade and sets it on the table beside Lilith, Shannon, and Jillian. Suzanne’s still a little too stiff to do much in the way of construction, but she’s out in the sun in her jeans and loose cotton shirt anyway, directing the other three this way and that. Mary’d worked on a few home raisings before, including her own after she proposed to Shannon, but Beatrice and Camila were inexperienced. Beatrice stands up and stretches her arms over head, lifting her old shirt enough to reveal a sliver of toned stomach, and Ava takes a gulp of lemonade.
“I know they’re working, but I think we need the lemonade more.” Jillian observes, not even pretending to read her the council report in her hands. Lilith hums in agreement.
“Keep your clothes on, ladies, goodness.” Shannon teases before calling across the yard,
“Lemonade!”
Their hard-working partners drop their tools and cross the property, laughing, and exchange kisses for cold glasses. Camila gets a swat on the nose with the newspaper for dunking her curls and shaking them out too close to Lilith. Beatrice wipes her face with the spare rag in her pocket and pulls Ava to her side.
“Hello, darling. How are you feeling?”
“Perfectly healthy, Bea, like I am every time you ask.” Ava says, not unkindly.
“That still won’t make me stop asking. Are you excited for our home?”
“I’m already home, wherever you are.”