Title: Let Sleeping Vamps Lie
Author(s): Jaina
Fandom: The Hollows aka Rachel Morgan aka that series by Kim Harrison
Time frame: Post-Outlaw Demon Wails
Characters: Rachel Morgan, Ivy Tamwood, Jenks, Skimmer, etc.
Genre: Romance, action, drama
Summary: Rachel is forced to confront things that she'd prefer left undisturbed.
Beta: ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
infinitelight and racethewind10 were both cool enough to look over this for me and tell me what they thought of it. Any errors that remain are entirely my own and likely a result of my not listening to their good advice.
Disclaimer: All characters, and the universe that they go with belong to Kim Harrison. I'm just playing in the sandbox. No infringement is intended.
Prompt: #6 Dread
Notes: Some of the formatting on here is a bit wonky. I worked with it for a while and couldn't get it to do anything different so my apologies for the weirdness.
Part Two
"Rachel?" A familiar voice, full of worry, pulled me back to consciousness.
"Tink's knickers, Rache, what have I told you about napping in the middle of runs?" Jenks was trying to sound berating, but merely sounded concerned.
Their voices were the most wonderful thing that I'd ever heard.
"Hey, guys," I slurred tiredly, reaching out as I opened my eyes. The light made my head throb and I immediately wished that I could close them again. Ivy's hand closed over my forearm and she gently helped me ease into a sitting position.
"What the hell were you doing here, Rachel?" Ivy asked in a low hiss. Her fingers dug into my arm as her grip went from supportive to painfully tight.
"Nothing." I shook my head, and then bit back a groan as my it felt like it was trying to burst. "Can we go?"
"Absolutely." Jenks was flitting from his usual perch on my dangling hoop earring to Ivy's shoulder, leaving a trail of pixy dust sparkling in the air between us. "Let's go, Ivy."
Ivy shook her head, staring at me with an unreadable expression. "Not until Rachel tells me why she was here."
I shrugged and looked down. I couldn't face Ivy right now. Not with everything that Skimmer had said about Ivy and I so fresh in my mind.
"Rachel."
I looked up, just a quick flick of my eyes. I hadn't counted on meeting Ivy's gaze so completely. It was amazing I hadn't let her bind me, after all of the close encounters that we'd had. Just looking into her eyes, I felt so much. My chest hitched painfully. With Ivy, I felt too much.
"I wanted to see her," I muttered. Maybe it would be enough of an answer to appease Ivy.
"Why?" She demanded.
I looked away. I couldn't have this conversation while looking into Ivy's eyes.
"To say thank you."
"For what? You don't owe that-" Jenks coughed as I Ivy shot him a dark look. "You don't owe her anything."
"She could have killed you, Rachel. Don't you understand that?" Ivy's words bit coldly into my barely raised defenses. "She would have drained you dry without a thought, just because you were there. What were you thinking?" She breathed the final words almost to herself.
“I told you, I wanted to thank her!” I almost shouted the words back at her as loud as I could, not caring for a moment that Ivy would want more of an explanation than that.
“So, what? You decided to thank her, by offering her your blood?" The disgust in Ivy's voice was almost enough to hide what sounded like pain.
"What? No! You're the only one I want to share blood with."
Silence reigned for a long moment after my outburst. It wasn't anything that the three of us didn't already know, but we didn't usually discuss it so freely.
I glanced over at Jenks, who had settled himself on Ivy's shoulder. She was so preoccupied that she hadn't even moved to brush him off yet.
"Jenks, can you call me a cab?"
Jenks flew into motion, his wings becoming a sparkly blur behind him. "Sure, Rache." He glanced between me and Ivy, and raised one tiny eyebrow at me.
I gave a small nod, both assuring him that Ivy and I would be fine without his chaperoning presence and that I really wanted him to call me a cab. I sniffled a little at his concern. Jenks really was the best partner and back up a girl could have.
"You're not taking a cab." Ivy had been so silent and perfectly still that I'd almost forgotten she was there. Her words made me jump, and then I started flush with the beginnings of righteous indignation. "I'm going to give you a ride home."
"Ivy-" I began to protest. I was tired of fighting with her about this. We'd had this argument too many times already. I didn't want to go yet another round about it tonight.
"God, Rachel, will you just let me take you home? You almost get killed and you won't even let me take care of you. Letting me give you a ride doesn't mean that you have to sleep with me, or even that I'm asking you to. It's just a ride home."
I blinked at Ivy, shocked for the second time tonight at her outburst. It was very unlike Ivy to be so direct. She was usually the one doing all the running. Then again, maybe I had that covered for both of us right now.
"Skimmer thinks I'm bad for you," I blurted out.
Ivy raised an elegant eyebrow. "She's jealous. Why does it matter to you what she thinks?"
"Because she's known you longer than I have, and I don't want to hurt you. I lo- care about you."
Ivy folded her arms over her chest. "The only thing that hurts me is when you refuse to let me help you."
"But would you say anything if it wasn't the only thing that I did to hurt you? Kisten's right. You're better at talking when you don't have to face the other person."
Ivy's fists clenched momentarily at her sides before she looked back at me. "Forget Skimmer. Forget Kisten. What do you want, Rachel?"
If I thought about my answer, I would over-think it. Ivy was asking me to take a leap of faith, and jump, go with what my instincts told me. My muscles tightened and for a moment I felt paralyzed and rooted to the spot. Since Kisten's death, I'd been trying to improve my decision making skills. I was relying less on my instincts, because they usually led me into danger.
I was silent for a moment too long. Ivy shook her head, dropped her eyes, and took a step back from me. Folding her arms across her chest, she looked back up.
“You know you’re the one who's always making this a big deal, and it’s not your issue. I’m-” She shrugged. “I could be happier with our relationship, Rachel, but I’m content with what you’ll give me. I’m not pushing to change the nature of our relationship. You’re the one who freaks out every time you breath the wrong way, or do something that you think will set off my instinct. I'm getting better," she added softly. "This is your problem. Don’t hold it against me."
“Ivy-” Her words tore at my heart. I didn’t know what to say to that. Our relationship was complicated. There wasn’t any way around that and I had no idea what to say to make it better. I settled for something far simpler. “Will you give me a ride home?”
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Can't wait for more!
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And this is another wonderful update. All I can say is that I can't wait for more. And especially for when they finally have that talk! I really cannot wait for that!
So ... updating soon? Please?
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Must. Stop. Watching. Lol.
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