On The Run

Disclaimer: All characters in this story are mine.

Warnings: m/f, preg, angst, death, lemon

** Asterisks indicate thoughts

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Chapter Nine


The third evening after falling ill, Grey was curled up on the couch, head in Naomi’s lap. He was sweating profusely and shivering, his fever at its worst. His cheeks were very red, a dramatic contrast from the rest of his pale face. Naomi smoothed his wet bangs away from his forehead, occasionally wiping his face and and neck with a damp, cool cloth. He suffered in silence, hands resting on his chest.

The television was on, and although both sets of eyes were focused on the screen, neither was really paying attention. Grey was riding out his fever, his mind completely preoccupied with that, while Naomi was worrying about him, stealing a glance down in her lap every now and then to see how he was faring.

She had been sick in the past, of course, but she always had the luxury of someone caring for her during that time. While she had been around ill people in her life, she never had to directly care for them. Now Grey had come down with a terrible fever, and she was feeling that she was inadequate for the job. She couldn’t give him any relief – the medicine wasn’t really helping, so he would have to leave it up to his body to heal itself. All Naomi could do was be there for him, though she felt useless.

Around midnight, Grey and Naomi parted to their rooms, though Naomi left him reluctantly. He had barely spoken a word all day, and when he did look at her directly, his eyes held a glassy, slightly foggy look. Naomi had seen that look many times, usually from her friends when they were much younger. That look meant that they couldn’t come out to play, that they were far too sick to do anything but rest.

Then, it had been fine. To see that look though in the eyes of an adult scared her a little. Grey wasn’t allowed to be ill. It had gone on long enough already, and she felt like every day that passed with him being unwell, she came apart a little more. It wasn’t good for her nerves, and with her level of worry over Grey, it sent the baby into agitated kicking fits.

Leaving for her bedroom, she crawled onto the mattress, slipping under the covers. The first day hadn’t been so bad, and she thought the fever would have passed fairly quickly. That wasn’t the case though, and when she had come to him the next morning, he looked much the same as he did that very evening.


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A heavy thump woke Naomi from her dreams. At first, she thought it had been her imagination. When she heard something clatter down the hall, she was up in a hurry, heading straight for Grey’s room. Feeling her way in the dark, it took hardly any time at all for her eyes to adjust to the darkness.

Peeking into his room, she saw that the covers were in disarray, but he was not there. Feeling anxious, and a rising sense of panic, she looked farther into the room, to see if he had fallen off the bed. He wasn’t on the floor though, and she did not know whether to feel relieved or frightened.

Pausing by the door, she listened for movement, or any noise. At one horror filled moment, she thought that Randy had found them, and dragged Grey outside to dispose of him before coming back for her. Looking wildly at the door, she noted that it was closed and locked, like it had been before they went to bed.

*He might not use the door, you idiot*

The thought of Randy being in the cottage sent her heart beating rapidly, and she began to sweat lightly.

*Come on, you stupid, stupid girl. It’s not him. He can’t find us. It’s Grey. Where are you?*

Scolding herself for her stupid behaviour, she padded farther down the hall, stopping again when she heard the movement of fabric. Turning, she went to the bathroom, where she thought she heard the noise.

The door was pulled but not closed, so she pushed lightly on it. Grey was seated on the floor, his back against the cabinet under the sink. Wide-eyed, Naomi approached him, kneeling down to look him in the face.

“How do you feel?” She asked quietly, taking his face in her hands. He was damp with sweat, his bangs matted. Feeling his forehead, Naomi was shocked to feel it wasn’t as hot as she anticipated it was going to be. Grey leaned into her hands.

“I feel a little better. I wanted a drink, but I became a little dizzy.”

“Dizzy?”

“Yeah, you know, room swirling, light-headed, shaky on feet…”

“I know, smart ass. Let’s get you back to bed. I’ll bring you some water.”

Naomi wasn’t strong enough to support him, so Grey used the sink counter to help him to his feet, allowing Naomi to lead him back to his room by his arm. Crawling into bed, he waited for Naomi to return.

She did shortly after, offering him a glass of water. He took it, drinking up the liquid eagerly. When finished, she took his glass, and raised her hand to his forehead once again.

“It looks like your fever has broken.”

“So what do you recommend for a speedy recovery, doctor?”

“A good night’s sleep and relaxing for the next couple of days.”

“I can live with that.”

“I don’t doubt it.” Naomi said, smiling. Grey returned it, though it was much weaker that the smile he usually graced her with.

Leaving his room, Naomi left the glass in the kitchen sink and returned to her room. She needed a good night’s sleep as well, since she had been worrying about Grey for the last few days. Thankfully, he would be getting better soon, and would hopefully become more talkative. Although she didn’t mind that he was quiet, it would also be nice if he took initiative sometimes and started conversations.


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“Rise and shine!” Naomi said, opening the blinds in Grey’s room. He had slept in past noon, and although Naomi was happy to see that he looked much healthier, she couldn’t allow him to sleep the entire day away. He groaned and pulled a pillow over his head to block out the sunlight coming from the window, pulling up the covers for good measure as well.

Naomi huffed, hands on her hips. Grey didn’t seem to mind or care, trying his best to catch a few more minutes of sleep.

“You know, if you don’t get up, you’ll never fall asleep tonight!” She said, making her way over to the bed. When
Grey didn’t respond, she grabbed the covers tightly in both hands, pulling it away from Grey. He protested loudly, trying to pull them back, but he didn’t have the proper leverage. It was a futile battle, Grey finally deciding to appease Naomi.

“Fine! I’m up, I’m up.” Grey said, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. His hair was disheveled, more than usual, standing up at strange angles. Naomi had to stop from laughing. His eyes were tired, but they held more light in them that morning than they had for the last couple of days.

“I understand that sleeping beauty needs his rest, but it’s going on afternoon. Time to get on with the day.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He said, slowly making his way to the washroom. He shut the door behind him, Naomi deciding to go and make breakfast when she heard the shower running. While Grey had taken over culinary duties for the most part, Naomi thought it was time to break out the waffle maker. Grey had said no, but he was in the shower, right? He couldn’t stop her now!

Getting out all the ingredients, she set to making chocolate chip waffles. Who could blame her though? That’s what Sunshine wanted to eat that morning, so she wasn’t going to withhold the chocolate from the baby!

Laughing almost maniacally, she slopped the batter into the waffle maker, eager to see how they would turn out. When the proper amount of time had past, she opened the lid, gleeful that it had worked, and a golden brown waffle was staring back at her.

*And he says I’m not allowed to use the waffle maker…*

Preparing half a dozen waffles, Naomi was pleased to see that she had finished around the same time she heard the door to the bathroom opening. Grey came out to the kitchen, greeted by the sweet aroma of breakfast.

“What did you make?” He asked, not yet spying the waffles. Naomi gave him an almost guilty smile, to which Grey responded with a suspicious look. Peeking over her shoulder, he spotted the plate of waffles.

“You used it, didn’t you?” He said accusingly. Naomi smiled sheepishly.

“Well, I told you I would.” She watched him look over her creation, satisfied when he nodded approvingly. He picked up the plate and brought it over the table, returning to the cupboards to attain plates and cutlery.

“I was wrong. I guess you are competent with the waffle maker.” Grey said, chuckling lightly. Naomi couldn’t even be indignant, looking into his dark, lively eyes. They danced with amusement, and fascinated her to no end.

“I see you can clean up too.” She said jokingly. He didn’t quite understand, slightly raising an eyebrow.

“Here I had to look at you for the past couple of days, no shower, no shaving, I was beginning to think that you had become some wild beast.” She said, laughing. Grey gave a small smile.

“I was trying out a new look.” The smell of aftershave flooded Naomi’s senses. It was a smell that she missed all too much. Running her fingertips along his stubble-free cheek, she laughed quietly. Grey stood completely still, watching her with curious eyes.

“I like this look much better.” Naomi said, before turning and walking towards the table. Grey stood at the counter momentarily, relishing the lingering feel of her fingertips on his cheek. Heart rate slightly accelerated, he smiled to himself as he grabbed the plates. Naomi was definitely different from any other woman he had met.

Sitting at the table, they enjoyed Naomi’s waffles and talked amongst themselves during breakfast. When they had finished, Grey offered to clean up. Naomi didn’t want him to, since he was still recovering, but he insisted, removing the dishes and putting them in the sink before she had left her seat.

Grey had wanted to take a walk down to the beach, which Naomi had at first been opposed to. He was still highly susceptible to catching another illness, and she didn’t want him out in the cold. However, he had turned those chesnut brown eyes into puppy-dog eyes, and she hadn’t been able to resist. He persuaded her to take a walk with him, so it wasn’t long before they were dressed in winter jackets and outside in the nippy air.

The sun was out that afternoon, which was a nice difference from the dark, overcast days they had grown accustomed to. It was far more pleasant than the last couple of days, where the temperature had gone below freezing, leaving frost on the ground.

“Finally, a nice, sunny day.” Naomi said, breathing in the November air. Grey couldn’t agree more.

“A nice contrast from what we have been putting up with.”

“Absolutely! It’s beautiful outside!”

They walked down to the beach, the water very still. In another week or so, the water would be frozen close to the shore, and it would begin to snow heavily. Naomi wished that they could have a few more days of pleasant weather before winter decided it was there to stay.

Grey stood beside her on the beach, his tall frame covering her from the chilly wind. She felt protected and secure, something she hadn’t felt for a long time. Sunshine seemed to share her happiness, by pushing up against her stomach.

*A major improvement from using my ribcage as a jungle-gym*

“Are you worried about your parents?” Naomi asked Grey, tilting her head up to look him in the eye. He had such a strong, masculine profile. He wasn’t a thin man, nor overly bulky, his frame tight and muscled exactly where it needed to be. He had the body of an avid swimmer, or perhaps even a runner, legs and arms balanced out evenly. He looked down at her, shaking his head, dark hair unruly. The wind didn’t help it, ruffling it around to splay his bangs against his forehead. For a man 30 years old, he had yet to sport any fine lines on his face (except around his mouth, where the lines came from his smiling). Instead, he still had that smoldering look, one that she was sure that he didn’t know he possessed. She was positive that it would have driven the girls in high school and university crazy, and he would have been oblivious.

*Silly boy…*

“I’m not worried. My parents are smart. They have contacted the police. Since I haven’t heard back from them yet, I’ll take it that everything is fine. If there was ever any trouble, they know how to look after themselves. Besides, it’s us that Randy wants, not them.”

Naomi couldn’t disagree. It would have been easy for Randy to kill Grey’s parents, but he didn’t. He inquired about them though, which meant the hunt was still on. Randy would probably never be satisfied until he took care of she and Grey.

“What are you thinking about?” Grey asked. Naomi blinked, registering that she had probably looked like she had been staring off into space.

“Oh….well, just about Randy. What he would do to us if he found us….” She said hurriedly, a slight touch of fright in her voice. Grey placed his thumb under her chin, tilting her head up so she was looking into his eyes once again.

“Randy is not going to find us. I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise. You know that. If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t have come and warned you that day in the hospital. We’ve been in this together since I found you after that accident, and I’m not just going to let him come in here and end it for the both of us. It’s not going to happen like that.” Grey said forcefully, his voice full of conviction. Naomi believed every word he said.

Something changed then. Or maybe something was realized in that moment, as Naomi looked up at Grey. He still had his hand under her chin, but his eyes were slightly wide, as if he was disbelieving at what was happening. While there were sparks in the air before, it was electric now.

Naomi watched uncertainty pass on his face before he swallowed his nerves and moved his hand to the small of her
back. Slowly, he leaned down into her, Naomi’s lips parting in anticipation. He was nervous, but brave, and she closed her eyes and lifted her head slightly, excited by his hot breath on her cheek.

Heart pounding, she wrapped her arms around his neck as their lips connected, warm and strong against hers. If he was feeling doubt before, he had discovered himself now. He held her as close to him as her belly would permit, lips moving fervently with hers. He ran his hands through her blonde hair as he kissed her, pulling back slightly to place several passionate kisses against her lips before leaning in once again to kiss her longingly.

Pulling back, he looked at her. Naomi’s eyes were closed, though when she noticed that the action had stopped, she slowly opened her caramel eyes. Grey was studying her, seemingly unsure once again.

“What?” She said, not understanding why he had stopped. He licked his lips.

“Are you okay with this? I mean, I don’t want to complicate things, with the baby and all…” Grey speaking hesitantly. Naomi thought about their situation.

“Is this going to be a one-time thing? Are you just going to play with me? Or can I count on you being around? I don’t want to pressure you into being Sunshine’s father or anything, I just need to know that if I’m going to invest my feelings into you, that we have something secure.” She said, arms still wrapped around his shoulders. He was leaning down slightly so that she wouldn’t have to reach up too far.

“I’m not playing with you. I’m not some prick that’s just going to use you, like the one that got you pregnant in the first place. I want you to invest your feelings in me. I’ll be with you as long as you want me.” The admission caused a surge of emotion in Naomi, one that she was not quite willing to share with him yet. Instead, she decided the best course of action was to have him claim her lips again.

“Well, since we have that settled, what are you waiting for?”

“What?”

“Kiss me.”

And he did. Grey swooped down to press his lips against hers, shocked when a probing tongue swiped across his lips. Complying, he parted his lips, tongue eager to meet Naomi’s in a passionate tangle. Wet kisses turned hot, they pressed against one another’s tongues hungrily, lips occasionally meeting.

Naomi moaned, knees weak, Grey flooding all her senses. He was experiencing something quite similar, holding Naomi close, kissing her ardently. When air became urgent, they parted, breathing heavily.

Grey was pressed against her, feeling the baby kick against his own stomach. He loved her, and he loved the baby. They would overcome the trouble with Randy, and if Naomi still wanted him around, he would be there for her and the baby. It was not something to discuss at the moment, but he would find the right time to tell her.




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A/N: Thanks for reading! Please review! More to come soon :)

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