A gentle moment beyond the pain

Heather shuddered harshly against Mal, curled around the man as tight she could go as the tight bandaging around her body would allow her.

"One, that's all I I I need, just to make...make it stop!" She whined. "I swear I'm stopping!" Her voice shook, nausea and anxiety tearing and eating at her chest.

"Are you dumb?" Levy called from the other side of Malachi--who protested, to no avail. "Are you really going to ruin your brand new liver?"

"I'm not...!" Heather cried, tears and sweat dripping from her face. "I just need a small drink to make the withdrawls go away..."

"You wouldn't be here if you had just listened to me," Levy accused. "If you had stayed sober when I had gotten you there."

Heather shuddered again, burying her face into Mal's chest.

"Levy, be kinder," he scolded. "She's just been through surgery, and she's hurting. Leave her alone."

"No, trust me, I know what's best for her," Levy struck back, reaching over the large man and grabbing Heather's arm. "Listen. My boyfriend cut out part of his liver for you. So you are not having another drop of alcohol as long as you live, you hear?"

Heather made some small, helpless noise of agreeance. 

"Good. Now we're going to fix you," she sat up and slid herself off of the bed, a small bump protruding from her abdomen. She walked around and knelt down beside Heather's shuddering frame. "Do you remember how we calm down?"

"I-I hate you," Heather muttered, swallowing back like jello from earlier that morning.

"No you don't. I know you remember," she pulled on Heather and rolled her to face her. "Get up."

Heather began to protest further, but Levy pulled her to sit. "You're going to make a pregnant woman carry you?" She scolded.

"Levy," Mal interjected. "Let her rest."

"I know what's best for her!" She shouted, pulling Heather to her feet. Heather groaned and shuddered again, her body still weak from last night's surgery. She slumped weakly against her ex, defeated.

"Now," Levy began, "remember when you would have nightmares, and you'd be shaking and crying and sweating and begging for a drink? What'd we do instead?" She asked gently, an unseen kindess coming to her essence.

"W-we...um...ow, Levy, slower..." Heather whimpered as she was tugged towards the bathroom.

Levy straightened her out in front of the sink, standing directly behind her. "Come on, you remember. I'd carry you to the bath, and make sure it was warm, and...?" She prompted.

"You turned out the lights..." She whispered. Levy turned the tap on to hot water, closing off the plug to fill up the sink.

"That's right, good job. And when I could, I lit candles. Do you know why I kept the light low?" She flipped the switch, allowing only the sunlight from behind the closed sutters to seep into the room.

"No," she admitted. Levy dunked her hands into the warm water, gentle heat seeping through Heather's fingertips and up into her arms. She sighed gently, leaning forward into the comfort.

Levy wrapped an arm around Heather's chest to keep her from falling. "Careful," she whispered. "The lights go off to give your mind a chance to relax. The warmth helps you unwind..." She tucked some of Heather's hair behind her ear. "We would sit in the bath, and I'd hold you and hum until you stopped shaking and stopped crying...and sometimes you would fall asleep and I had to carry you to bed without slipping..."

"Yeah..." Heather whispered hoarsly, tremors eventually slowing. Her body calmed for the time being, and Levy simply stood behind her in a warm embrace, rocking their hips from side to side, careful to keep the thick, white bandages under Heather's blue and white checkered gown. When the water grew cold, she pulled the plug, allowing the sink to empty as she pulled a pale towel from the rack and dried Heather's arms.

"Better now?" She asked, the usual smugness in her tone.

"Yeah," Heather nodded a little, eyes heavy.

"Ready for a nap?"

"Mhm..."

Levy guided her back to the bed, sandwiching her between herself and Mal, again, for warmth. She reached up and clicked the lights off once again, allowing Heather to rest, and giving her and her future husband a calm environment to talk.