When the Skies Get Rough (Maia)

[Chase Kelly]

( I felt a new thread was in order)

He had a pounding headache. This war had been brewing for a while now, but Chase felt like tonight had been a turning point. A vampire attacked two teachers at Hogwarts. It meant something. It showed the other side would fight dirty, and the St Mungos staff had to be on their toes from now on, every second. It was going to get to the point where everyone was on call all the time, even when thy were home. It was going to be bad.

Or he was just tired and over reacting. He was supposed to be home hours ago, but Kryshna had thrown a wrench in the plan. As he moved up the walkway, the house was dark and he was sure Maia was already in bed, fast asleep. She deserved better- someone who would come home to dinner when he said he would.

He unlocked thedoor and just dropped onto the couch, losing all energy to even breathe. He was in that half asleep state when he heard footsteps padding down the stairs.

[Maia Whitney]

Maia had a bit of a sixth sense. She was far from being a full-fledged Seer, but she sometimes would have a feeling about something, especially when something was wrong. She'd had that feeling the day of the Hogsmeade attack, which was how she'd managed to avoid getting caught in it. And she had that feeling tonight when Chase didn't come home when she expected him to.

She felt fairly certain that he wasn't hurt or anything; she was sure she would know if that were the case. But there was a problem, and it was serious. She'd even tried owling Adrienne, who had simply replied that Chase was handling a "sensitive" case and would be home as soon as possible. But it didn't stop Maia from worrying, and when she was worried, Maia couldn't sleep.

So she was awake when she heard the front door open. She waited a few minutes to see if Chase would come right up to her, and when he didn't, she slipped out of bed and made her way downstairs.

"Chase?" she said softly, coming up behind him. "What's going on? Is everything OK?"

[Chase Kelly]

Pulled out of that barely awake state, Chase was brought to full awareness, though you couldn't tell aside from his wide eyes. He barely even moved a muscle for a minute, releasing a long breath before replying with a simple, "Yeah."

He sat up, on the verge of telling her that he wanted her to quit her job. He wanted her to stay home and safe... But he couldn't ask that of her. He thought of Jordan and Caroline, and knew he couldn't someone as bright and engaging as Maia couped up at home. She would grow unhappy, and that was always the last thing he ever wanted. Besides, he was falling right into what the other side wanted... Fear.

"Yeah, everything's okay. Sorry I'm home so late. Did I wake you?" he padded the cushion next to him for her to sit.

[Maia Whitney]

Maia didn't move right away. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders from behind and hugged him for a minute, pressing a soft kiss to his temple. "It's all right," she told him. "I couldn't sleep. I just had a feeling..."

What he didn't understand was that she worried for him probably more than he worried for her. His job put him closer to the front lines than hers did. Most people wouldn't notice the quiet little seamstress in a shop. She was beneath their notice, just a little drudge. But Chase was the one to deal with the injured, the victims of attacks. To her, a hospital would seem like a primary target. But she would never tell Chase that she didn't want him to do his job. It was important, and she loved that he took is so seriously. But Merlin, sometimes it scared her.

She put her head on his shoulder, leaning sideways slightly so that their heads were pressed together. "I owled Adrienne. She said you were dealing with a sensitive case... what happened? Was there another attack?"

[Chase Kelly]

Chase frowned at her answer. Maia always had incredible intuition, and he learned over the years that if she had a bad feeling about something, he would do well to take it seriously. It didn't surprise him, then, that she had been kept awake tonight.

"Sorry about that... Hospital rules that Adrienne can't say anything specific about what's going on- even to you." He was personally glad for this, because he would much rather be the one to tell her what was happening. He thought she would worry less if it came from him.

But he promised her that he would nevertheless to her. So when she came around the couch, he wrapped his arms around her. "There was a vampire attack at the school- two teachers were targeted. An Auror was poisoned, and an MLE officer bitten, but barely. They're both fine, the professors are fine. Kieran and Galen and I were with the creature."

[Maia Whitney]

Maia knew the score and she wasn't complaining about it, even though it frustrated her sometimes. She tried to tell herself that at least Chase wasn't an auror or anything like that, but still sometimes she worried. She trusted, though, that Adrienne would tell her if Chase was hurt or injured.

She settled onto his lap, curling up close to him, and as he told her about the vampire attack, she couldn't help but hold him a little tighter.

"You had to treat that... that... thing?" she gasped, incredulous. "Why? Couldn't they just stake the thing and be done with it? That's dangerous... you and Kieran and Galen are all fine, right?"

[Chase Kelly]

"That's a great question," Chase said, his voice low. It was immediately apparent that he did not want the vampire at the hospital at all. "Not only did we have treat it, but it's still there in the isolation ward, and Merlin... I don't trust it. I almost didn't come home... what if it escapes?" He didn't really want her thinking about these things, but there was no one else who would listen to him. He would be very relieved when Lindsay came back, and he'd be in her office until she got rid of the thing.

"There's an orderly that's probably pretty bruised up, but we're all fine otherwise. I don't know about Kieran... He's fine, I mean, not hurt. I just worry."

He sighed again, leaning his head back against the couch. "I'm exhausted."

[Maia Whitney]

Maia leaned against his shoulder, holding him close to her. She could feel the rumble of his voice as he spoke, and the beating of his heart next to hers. It wasn't that she wasn't listening to what he was saying, but she was also unconsciously taking him in, trying to memorize his scent, his warmth, and the sound of his voice. She was scared, even though she knew he was all right now. It seemed like too many things were happening out in the world, and since he worked at the hospital, he was going to be in the middle of it all in some way or another.

"They'll have to get it out of there," she said. "It can't stay there... there has to be some other place to put it. I'm just glad you're OK."

There was a long pause, while Chase closed his eyes, and Maia just held him close. Then, slowly, she began to move her lips along his shoulder and up to his neck.

[Chase Kelly]

"I know," Chase grumbled. "Believe me, I want it out of there more than anyone."

He never really felt like he was in much danger at the hospital. He usually dealt with people after the crisis, so he was never in danger. Sure, there were contagious curses (he'd dealt with his fair share of those), the occasional dangerous patient here and there, but he wasn't exactly on the frontlines. But when things like this happened... what if something had gone wrong, or Angelina had been thirty seconds too late with a body binding spell? He wasn't even worried about himself, but what it would have put Maia and Caroline and Janis through, what it would have done to his coworkers and friends.

He sighed and held Maia closer, though he did not voice any of these concerns. And suddenly, he felt her lips on his neck and he smiled, a chuckle rumbling in his throat. "Well, hello."

[Maia Whitney]

She'd been so worried about him, and now that he was home and safe, Maia just wanted to cling to him and remind him just how much she loved him. And in the back of her mind, there were other things worrying her still, but she didn't want to bring them up just yet.

What if something happened to him and she wasn't able to see him because she wasn't his wife? What if he died, and she couldn't get his insurance or pension money because they weren't married? And then there was the issue of children...

She wanted to have children some day, and she wasn't getting any younger. She knew she'd be a good mother, and that Chase would be a good father. But she wanted her children to have his name, and she wanted her name to be the same as his. There were so many reasons why marriage was necessary. She agreed with him that they didn't need rings or a ceremony or a piece of paper to prove their commitment to each other... but to everyone else. they did. And besides, she really did want the rings and the ceremony and the white dress with the veil and the flowers... What girl didn't dream about her wedding day? She wanted that, more than anything.

For now, though, she buried those thoughts in the back of her mind and forced herself to focus on him... kissing him, touching him, loving him. She needed him now.

"Let's go upstairs," she whispered against his ear.

[Chase Kelly]

Chase did not need to be told twice, even as exhausted and drained as he was. He smiled at her, catching her lips in his own for a kiss before he shifted, and rose to his feet with her still in his arms, urging her arms around his neck and her legs around his middle before he took the first couple of steps to move upstairs.

It was some time later when he was on his back, Maia's head on his chest and his fingers absently playing with her hair. His eyes were closed and he wasn't even entirely sure he was all the way awake. But like only she could, Maia had certainly relaxed him and set his mind at ease for the time being, and the warmth of her body so close to his made him feel just a little more in control of things.

"Have I mentioned lately how much I love you?" he asked her in a quiet, pensive tone.

[Maia Whitney]

Enough to marry me? came the thought that popped into her mind. She hated herself for it immediately, but the thought was always there, beneath the surface, poking at her confidence. She knew that Chase loved her; she never doubted it. But sometimes she couldn't help but think that if he loved her as much as he said, he would marry her, just because she wanted it.

But no, relationships were often about compromise. And could she really expect him to give her exactly what she wanted if there was nothing in it for him? She didn't want to give him an ultimatum and force him into it... but why couldn't he just want to marry her, to make her happy?

It often happened like this... when she was at her most vulnerable was when the doubts and worries started to poke through. And being the hotheaded Irish redhead that she was, she often responded by fighting back. She felt that argumentative spirit trying to rear up, and she had to force herself to push it down. She didn't want to ruin this moment with arguments.

"I think you might have mentioned it, but I never get tired of hearing it," she replied with a playful smile, nestling her head into the crook of his neck.