Strength In Our Bonds (The Strength in Generations Accompanying Book)

In Sickness And In Health

Martine knew, he'd always known, that marrying Leiria meant that he'd become her main caretaker. This hadn't impacted his decision any; she was the love of his life, and her illness was intermittent. He figured that, when she did get sick, he'd have no problem taking care of her. He assumed that his love for her would be enough to get him through the hard times.

The problem was that Martine tended to over-romanticize things.

He hadn't a clue just how much it would hurt him when he'd wake up and find Leiria a trembling mess, when she'd spend all day in the bathroom vomiting. But he never once reconsidered his decision; after all, a real man never gave up on the woman he loved.

Now, he was in their bedroom, and heard a glass shatter in their kitchen. A clumsy woman, Leiria was not; he knew he should check on her. And he was right, for she sat huddled on the floor by the broken glass, shuddering.

"Leiria, why are you near that glass?" Martine hurried to move her aside. "You could hurt yourself!"

Leiria tried to speak, but her words were too disrupted by her shivers for Martine to understand her. Still, he knew that she was probably apologizing. Leiria never went long without saying she was sorry for something.

"It's okay, darlin', I'm here now." Martine scooped her into his arms, and gave her forehead a kiss. "Stay still, all right?"

Martine wasn't good at magic, which actually worked in his favor when it came to taking care of Leiria. He was able to create Fire spells weak enough so that they wouldn't burn her, just warm her up enough so that she'd stop shivering (and Blizzard spells gentle enough when she was hot).

"Martine... I-I'm sorry," she said.

"Honey, please stop apologizing for getting sick. It's not your fault, it ain't anyone's fault."

"B-but... you don't deserve th-this. You deserve better-"

"Leiria, to me, you are the best. There ain't no woman in the world above you for me, and I don't care if I have to take care of you like this forever, nothing is changin' that. Okay?"

"Okay." Leiria nodded, but she started to cry. Martine knew they'd be having this talk again. They always ended up having this talk again.

"Don't cry, baby. I'm here for you, okay?" He kissed her forehead again, before sitting her on their bed, as they'd made it to their bedroom by now. He sat on his side of the bed, and Leiria tightly clutched his shirt, trying to hold him close. This was something else she always did when she was sick, a signal to Martine that she wanted to cuddle, and he always obliged.

"You know I'm always gonna be here for you, right?" he asked. "In sickness and in health. That's what we promised on our wedding day, remember?"

"I remember." Leiria nodded, sniffling.

"Don't you dare forget it." Martine smiled, giving her a quick kiss. "How are you feeling? Better, or do I have to send you off again?"

"No, no, I don't want to leave," she replied. "I want to stay here with you."

"I ain't gonna force you, but if you get too bad, I reserve the right to put you on a ship to Esthar."

"Okay. That's fair." Leiria nodded. "I always feel so much better whenever I'm in your arms, Martine."

"And I love having you here." Another forehead kiss. "You're not shivering anymore, so I guess you aren't that sick."

"Sometimes it passes quickly, yes."

"Let's be thankful for small miracles." Martine smiled, "Do you have an appetite at all? Can I make you something?"

"Mm-mm." Leiria shook her head.

"Can I get you anything at all?"

"The only thing I want is you, and you're right here. Unless you're not really you, in which case, I want you to go find the real Martine so I can go cuddle him." Leiria smiled back.

Martine laughed heartily- it wasn't often that his demure wife made jokes, especially right after having an episode.

"I'm still a little cold, though. Can I have blankets?"

"Blankets coming right up." Martine stood, taking a look around, trying to remember where he'd last had the blankets. "Did I wash those blankets, Leiria?"

"Well, I know that you had to wash the three that you used last time 'cause I threw up on them, but I cannot remember if you actually did. Um, there should be others with the linens, though."

"The linens." Martine nodded. "Be right back."

Leiria was 19 years old now, almost 20, yet still maintained her childlike innocence in certain ways, so sometimes Martine would make her a blanket fort. It always made her smile, and more importantly, it took her mind off of being sick. She claimed that cuddles were even better when in a blanket fort.

Martine made a hot cup of tea for Leiria and took it inside her fort, sliding in and cuddling with her. "I put a little lemon in there," he said. "It should help your throat if it starts to ache."

Leiria nodded. "Thank you. I'm glad I'm not shivery anymore."

"Leiria, I only wanna feel you shuddering like that if it's after I've satisfied you in bed."

"...What?" Leiria had a blank expression on her face.

"Nothing. Forget I said that. Forget everything about it." Martine tended to forget he couldn't make sexual references to his wife; they never registered with her.

"Oh. Okay." Leiria nodded. "Oh, Martine! Now that you're not busy, I just remembered there's something I wanted to tell you."

"I'm listening."

"Your birthday is soon, aye? I want to give you a present."

"Aw, you know you don't have to get me anything." Martine chuckled. "Well... if you insist, though, I have had my eye on this particular pair of boots..."

Leiria giggled. "I thought I didn't have to get you anything!"

"Well, no, you don't; I'm just saying, if you really want to."

"You're so funny, Martine." Leiria giggled again. "And, um, also, I would like to maybe try making love again?"

"Okay." Martine nodded.

"Oh, I'm sorry for making this unclear- I didn't mean that had to wait until your birthday. It can be sooner, if you want."

"Like, right now sooner?" asked Martine.

"Yes, please." Leiria nodded.

Martine grinned. "Well, you know I ain't gonna refuse that kind of request."