Frost Bitten (BxB)

Chapter Thirty-Seven

(Asurah's POV)

"While I am glad you are already conscious, I'd rather you stay here for a few more hours until I'm confident you're ready to hyper jump. I apologize if this isn't what you want, however I'm sure your husband would rather you return home in one piece."

I tried not to let my disappointment show...but it seemed like my body didn't want to listen to me as I sighed and frowned, averting my gaze to the side when Joseph glanced at me with saddened chocolate eyes. My heart felt heavy that I had worried him so much, by taking that bullet for him...but I couldn't lose him again after just getting him back.

I just...I hadn't counted on actually dying.

From what Joseph told me, I had died a grand total of four times. I had died four freaking times. I just...I couldn't even begin to wrap my head around that information, I mean, I never in my life ever thought about dying, as weird as that was. But I guess that bullet had gotten much too close to some vital organs that my body couldn't handle the trauma.

Hell, honestly, I was just glad I was alive, because I doubt Joseph would have been able to handle my death. Goodness, I almost lost myself when I thought he died, and now that we were finally reunited...my death probably would have broken him, and I didn't want that for him. No...if I died, I would want him to move on and find happiness elsewhere. I wouldn't want him to waste away the rest of his life mourning me and end up missing out on the good things in life.

But gods, I could only imagine how he felt knowing that I barely was able to hang on. He was probably frantic and worried, and I hate that I had to put him in that position, but I would rather it be me, than him. Hell, I had no family. My parents were dead, and I never had the privilege of having a sibling annoy me. Joseph still had Josie to look after. He had family and I would hate seeing the agony in Josie's eyes if Joseph ever passed.

Gosh, I keep going on in circles, but my mind was just a tangled mess at the moment, and I blamed that on the fact that I was dead on four different occasions.

"Asurah?"

I blinked and pulled out of my thoughts, my brows furrowing as my gaze met with my doctor's...or, well, as he informed me, Dr. Luthidus. "Oh, my apologies, I was lost in my head. What did you want to say to me?"

The Tronian man tilted his head curiously, tail flickering left, then right as his long silver hair spilled over his shoulder. "I was asking if you felt any pain at all, or any tightness in your chest."

My brows pinched together as I rubbed at my chest, Joseph's eyes practically glued to me as he squeezed my other hand. "No pain or tightness that I can pinpoint. Um, but I do feel kind of nauseous now that I think about it."

Luthidus frowned and took a step closer to me, brows pinching together. "Nauseous? Nauseous how? Like, you want to throw up, or is it more of a dizzy sort?"

I went to speak, however instead of words, bile came surging past my lips, Joseph jumping back with a yelp as I emptied the contents of my stomach. Or well, what was left in my stomach. When did I last eat again?

"What's happening? W-Why is he puking?" Joseph asked worriedly, my husband rushing back to my side to, thankfully, pull my hair out of the way.

Luthidus put his clipboard down and gently lifted my face, black eyes searching mine. "It could be the pain medication he's on. Most of what we have are of Tronian make, so perhaps the chemicals within the medication are clashing with his genetic makeup. Here, let me take a blood sample so I can conduct some tests in order to see if I can give him something else to fight back the pain. In the meantime," he pulled something out from under the pod, "if you feel the need to puke again, Asurah, you can do so in this bin."

He handed said bin to Joseph, who nodded appreciatively before his gaze dropped to my little...mess. "Is there anyone that can clean that up? If not, just show me where the paper towels are and I'll get it done."

Luthidus shook his head and picked his clipboard back up, lips pursing as his gaze met with my husband's. "There's no need for that. I'll summon one of the staff to get this up for you. And with that said, let me go get a blood kit to test Asurah's blood, and hopefully we can figure out if the medication is what's causing this nausea or if there's an underlining problem we need to address."

When he left, Joseph's gaze immediately snapped to me, chocolate depths filled with worry as he gently cupped my cheek. "Do you feel like you have to puke again?"

I scrunched up my nose and shook my head, leaning back with a shaky breath before I pinched the bridge of my nose. "I-I think I'm good for now. I honestly have no idea where that even came from." I averted my gaze to the side, Joseph's hand warm in mine as I began biting my bottom lip, careful to not pierce the delicate flesh. After a moment, I squeezed his hand and looked back towards him, watching as he met my gaze. "I'm sorry if I scared you. I just...I couldn't bear to watch you get hurt again. When I thought you died...gods, the pain was practically immeasurable, and Joseph? I-I barely held on then. I wouldn't have made it if I had to deal with the pain of losing you again."

Joseph's eyes grew soft and began swirling with tears, the man squeezing my hand as he cleared his throat and nibbled at his bottom lip. "It's ok, Asurah. I understand. I would have done the exact same thing had our roles been reversed. You mean way too much to me for me to lose you. So don't ever feel guilty for saving my life, Asurah, because I would do the same thing for you."

I exhaled shakily and leaned my head forward, Joseph resting his forehead against mine as he gently cupped my cheeks, a couple of his tears wetting my skin. "Just...don't scare me like that again. And I'll promise to do the same for you."

I smiled softly and pressed a kiss against the corner of Joseph's lips, watching as those gorgeous brown eyes raised to meet my gaze. "I'll try not to," I told him softly, nibbling at my bottom lip. "Hopefully we're not thrown into this kind of situation again, because I won't be able to handle the pain again."

Joseph pressed a soft kiss against my forehead, then another one against my lips before he pulled back and stared at me, his hand still warm against my cheek. "I won't let anyone do this to us again, Asurah. I'll be damned if anyone tries to separate us again."

A tear slipped down my cheek as I closed my eyes, giving my husband a small smile. "I love you Joseph."

Joseph kissed me lightly on the lips again before he pulled me into a hug, the warmth very much welcomed as I snuggled against him. "Love you too, Ash."

A/N: Gah, Asurah and Joseph are just so darn cute together!!!!! And fun little tidbit, the doctor's full name is Dr. Artagon Luthidus, so there's a fun little fact for you lol.

Anywho, hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Lemme know what you think! I love feedback! XD