| Subject: WTTS2 - 73 |
Author:
KT
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Date Posted: 21:29:23 01/11/02 Fri
In reply to:
KT
's message, "Window to the Soul 2" on 20:43:26 01/11/02 Fri
Window to the Soul 2 - Part 73
By KT
Copyright August 11, 2000
Nikita closed her eyes, afraid that what she was feeling was just a figment of her imagination... She breathed quietly and focused on her body. The tingling was like prickles, like when a part of the body "went to sleep" when its circulation was cut off, and "woke up" again. The sensation was almost like burning.
Michael sat perfectly still behind her, his arms lightly encircling her, supporting the weight of her body, hardly breathing himself as he waited for her assessment.
"Nikita?"
She turned to look at him. His eyes were expectant, hers were imploring. "It... feels..."
"What does it feel like?"
"Like hot and cold at the same time. Like a thousand needles... I mean, really."
Michael reached under her and lifted her legs until her feet were above the water. "Can you wiggle your toes?" he restated the doctors' original test.
She frowned with concentration. Nothing happened. Her chin dropped onto her chest and tears welled in her eyes, but she held them back and sighed. Nikita lifted her head and tried again. Still nothing. She shook her head, not trusting her voice at the moment.
Michael settled back, pulling her with him. The water and the silence made companionable partners. Nikita could feel the change in tension as she relaxed against him, his arms surrounding her. She lay quietly, her hope dissipating like the steam rising from the water. Michael's hands covered hers as he entwined their fingers.
"Can you still feel it? The tingling, I mean..."
"Yes."
With that, Michael placed her hands on the edge of the tub slowly stood up, letting the water settle as he stepped out and arranged a towel on Nikita's chair. He lifted her out of the tub, wrapping her in its cozy warmth as he placed her in the chair. He draped a small towel over her wet hair, then grabbed another and dried himself, tying it around his hips.
Nikita watched him, admiring the graceful solid lines of his body. He glanced at her, and she blushed. "Sorry, didn't mean to..."
Michael stepped close, a determined air about him as he leaned down and placed a very hot kiss on her mouth, his hands snaking under the towel and into her hair. Nikita was breathless when he pulled back, silenced by the ardor of the kiss. Her heart lurched as she was captured by the hypnotic tempest brewing in his eyes. He took the handles of the chair and pushed her down the hallway. The next moment she was lying face down on her bed, Michael kneeling at her feet.
Michael began to massage her feet, and Nikita groaned. He formed a fist with his hand and pressed his knuckles into the bottom of each foot with a firm twisting motion. He moved from one foot to the other until he could feel warmth building beneath the surface of her skin. Michael placed a hand on the top and bottom of each foot and massaged it vigorously. He then stimulated the accupressure points in her toes and arches, as Mr. Nomura had taught him, pressing and releasing with deep and intense energy in his fingertips.
Nikita gave a piercing yelp as a line of fire shot up from the bottom of her feet. Michael moved his hands up to her calves, pressing all points along the outside of each shin bone, again with consistent strength and intensity. Nikita began to breath rapidly, and sweat poured out of every pore in her body as the heated reaction continued.
Michael shifted again, the heels of his hands pressing deeply along the inside of each thigh, where he knew the femoral nerve lay against the bone. He rolled her from one side to the other to get a better angle, alternating legs, and pressed as hard as he dared. Mr. Nomura had cautioned him about working too deeply, but Michael felt that if there was any time to work deeply, this was it. He inched the heel of his hand up from the knee to the top of each thigh... once, twice, three times, four... deeper each time until...
Nikita emitted a startled scream and promptly passed out from the pain. Michael said nothing, only kept on with his movements until he felt the heat in her legs increasing rapidly as her circulation responded to the deep stimulation. His strong hands then moved to the small of her back, and up along either side of her spine, pressing and releasing each point until he worked his way to the holding points in her shoulder blades.
He pressed hard on the points in the backs of her upper arms, then pressed very deeply on those on the top of her forearms. Nikita moaned, but did not wake. His fingers sought and found her racing pulse under her jaw. She was out, but perfectly fine. He stood next to the bed and carefully rolled Nikita onto her back, then started his ministrations all over again, from the feet up.
She was still sweating, and her body was burning hot to the touch, but Michael kept on with a single-mindedness of purpose as he channelled all his energy into his hands. He, too, began to sweat as the heat of the bath and the passion of his purpose pushed his body into overdrive.
Nikita began breathing heavily, as if in the midst of a vivid dream. Her muscles jerked and tensed as Michael poured all his will into his touch, his hands like firebrands upon her skin. He prayed hard, as he had done at the hospital.
Please...
Did he believe in God? Michael had to admit, the future was in the hands of no human. He had felt a presence in the little chapel when he'd given thanks for the sparing of Nikita's life. Now he was given charge of helping her back along this very hard road. He knew in his heart that half the purpose of it all was to bring him back as well. And back he was, in full force.
He completed his circuit, then collapsed next to her, drained from his intense output. Michael watched Nikita as her breathing slowly lightened, and he finally decided she was actually asleep. His eyes remained fixed on hers, but they didn't open. He felt her pulse once again, finding it returning to normal. He lay close to her side, one arm flung possessively across her body, one leg hooked around hers. His nose brushed the tip of hers as his lips rested against her mouth.
He had given her all he could for the moment. Michael's own heartbeat and breathing slowed as he slipped into sleep. Time ebbed and flowed around them, their dreams entwined, as Rest gathered her two orphans to her breast.
* * * * * * * *
Gwen, Roberta, and Sabine had a pleasant drive, Roberta exclaiming over the old mansions. They stopped at the park near the Northwestern campus and sat by the lake for an hour as the beckoning spring sun warmed their faces. The lake was bright cobalt in the sunlight, and a light breeze swept over the sparse new green under their feet.
They had picked up some sandwiches and made a picnic, telling stories, sharing secrets. Gwen and Sabine exchanged a merry look as they heard Roberta truly laughing at their silly jokes. After lunch, they sat quietly watching the gulls swooping over the water, looking for their own lunch. The smelt ran in the spring, and the birds knew exactly where to find them.
Each was wrapped in her own thoughts. No one mentioned Nikita, but she was foremost on their minds. Roberta looked at her friends with worried eyes. Sabine reached out and took her hand, and Gwen put her arm around her shoulders.
"We know, mon amie," Sabine spoke softly.
"I feel so helpless." Roberta looked from one to the other.
"So do we," Gwen agreed.
"We are doing everything we can for her. The rest is in the hands of God." Sabine's conviction quieted Roberta's fears, except for one.
"And is she doing everything she can? Oh, Sabine, I feel her despair. I wish I could take it away, so she could be truly free of it. Why? Why is it taking so long?"
"I am very close to it," Sabine replied, remembering Nikita's nightmares, "and have tried to help by talking about things, trying to let her know that I will do whatever it takes. But truly, time is the great healer. We in the profession know this, and are perhaps more patient because of it."
Roberta looked solemnly at her sisters.
"Time is the one thing I don't have."
They remained silent for a little while, then shaking off the pensive atmosphere, Sabine stood and smiled. "I think what we need is some dessert, don't you?"
Gwen rose and began to organize their things. "Mmmm... how about that little ice cream place near Hubbard's Woods? They have Black Walnut, my favorite." She glanced at Roberta. "And as I recall, it's yours as well. Now with a little hot fudge and whipped cream..."
"Voila!" exclaimed Sabine. "After all, we are on holiday of sorts." She beamed at Gwen.
Roberta mustered a smile. Ice cream did sound good just now. As she looked at the enthusiastic faces of the ladies, she began to laugh out loud.
"All right, you two. I'm game. You have me at your mercy. Do with me as you will."
* * * * * * * *
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