It's a Long Way Down

Chapter Twenty-Four: New Ideas

"You're telling me she slept for a week?" Sodo asked Rain as he looked at his still-sleeping mate the next morning. Rain nodded, saying, "It was weird. Not even Swiss being loud just down the hall woke her up."

Sodo thought for a moment, wondering what would've made her sleep so long. He looked back up at Rain asking, "And you and Cirrus were in here the whole time?"

"Yep. If she was awake, I'd sleep, if I was awake she'd sleep. One of us was always up to make sure nothing happened or that no one would do anything to her," Rain told him. Sodo nodded, saying, "Something happened before she fell asleep though. But how? I was always with her. Or one of you was."

"You didn't always have her medication on you. Maybe someone spiked it?" Rain said. Sodo's eyes widened, "She had some of her medication yesterday, Rain."

"Yeah, she had a lot of medication yesterday. Didn't you say the doctor gave her more?" Rain told him. Sodo started to panic, thinking his mate was going to sleep for another week, just for her to start waking up, feeling Sodo's panic.

"What happened?" She asked groggily. Sodo let out a breath of relief, telling her, "Nothing, baby, don't worry about it."

Ember simply cuddled more into Sodo's chest as she fell back asleep. Sodo looked at Rain and said, "She seems fine now. Are you sure it could be her medication?"

"It's something we should look into. It's the one thing she had before everything happened that you had to leave the room to get. Everything else we all saw. We knew what was in everything else," Rain told him. Sodo just sighed, nodding, "Yeah, you're right. Until we figure it out, we can't give her any more of her meds, just to be safe."

"What else can we give her for pain then?" Rain asked. Sodo just gave him a look, making Rain go, "Hey, that's up to you man. If you want her to start ranting about apples or bananas next, be my guest."

"What other option do we have, Rain? Weed seemed to help her and it's a better alternative to the medication that's fucking her up," Sodo argued. Rain sighed and told him, "I don't wanna hear any complaints from you then."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Now fuck off so she can sleep," Sodo told Rain. Under different circumstances, Sodo would've left with Rain to keep trying to figure out what had made Ember sleep for so long, but he was afraid to leave his mate alone. After how many times their relationship was targeted, he was afraid to let her out of his sight for even a mere second.

Rain simply nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him. Sodo sighed, running his hands through her hair saying, "You don't deserve to live like this, baby. Having to watch your back every second of the day out of fear of being attacked. You deserve better. Someone safer for you. Someone who doesn't make your power flair up. Maybe if you were mated to Swiss or Rain Sister would be more approving of the relationship. Those two would be able to neutralize your power more. I just amplify it."

He let out a sigh, starting to rub her back as she started to shift. Sodo asked, "How long have you been awake?"

"Mated to Swiss or Rain," Ember mumbled groggily, "What are you talking about?"

"I'm just talking to myself, love. Nothing you need to worry about. I promise everything will be okay," Sodo told her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. She looked up at him, puckering her lips, making Sodo chuckle. He leaned down and pressed a sweet kiss to her lips, running a hand down her side as he pulled away, "I have some bad news for you, baby."

"Hmm," She hummed in question, stretching a little, being careful of her casts. Sodo told her, "I can't let you have any of your pain meds."

"What, why?" She asked quickly, looking at him. Sodo explained to her, "I'm not doing it because I want to see you in pain, Satan knows it hurts me to see you in pain. I'm doing it because I feel like someone tampered with it. Ember, the entire week I was in the freezer you were asleep. With no one knowing if or when you'd wake up. And I was none the wiser. Just until we figure out if your meds are safe."