Sokeefe - Until She Was Ready For More

Chapter 41

Keefe sat in the chair beside my infirmary bed as he gently ran his fingers through my hair. My eyes were closed and every so often Keefe would lean down to kiss my temple tenderly. 

We had decided to stay in the infirmary until the school day was over as opposed to ditching, and Elwin was happy to oblige to that request. There was just no use in going back to Telepathy with Fitz, and Keefe had already been ditching anyways. Plus, a cot was much more comfortable than any random bench Keefe could find in an empty hallway. 

"Sophie," Keefe whispered and my eyes blinked open. 

I hummed in reply and a smile overtook Keefe's face. 

"Hi, darling," he said again, eyes sparkling. I giggled quietly as he leaned forward and peppered my face with light kisses. 

"I love you," I exhaled. 

"I love you too, Foster." 

Keefe kissed my forehead and didn't move away, keeping his lips resting there. 

"Keefe?" I whispered. 

"Hmm?" 

"I'm kinda hungry," I said sheepishly, and Keefe moved his lips from my forehead to my nose so he could see my eyes. 

"Your wish is my command, M'Lady. Whatever can I get to nourish you?" Keefe asked playfully as he stood up to bow, then proceeded to lift his head slightly and wink. 

"Hmmm, maybe an elephant, Sir Keefe. I am truly feeling famished!" I laughed. 

"As you wish, princess," he answered, winking again. He leaned down once more to quickly peck my cheek. "I'll be back in a few minutes." 

"Okay," I said, smiling, and Keefe shot a grin back before walking out the door. 

I sighed contently. I don't know what I would do without Keefe. I certainly wouldn't have the life I have now, that's for sure. My younger, past self had surely realized that by now. 

***

"Ouch!" 

Elwin came rushing into the room from his office, vials of liquid in both hands. 

"What? What is it?" he asked frantically. 

"Agh... it's nothing," I said as I rubbed the palm of my hand against my temple. 

"Are you sure, Sophie? I need to know if something's wrong." 

"Yep! I'm sure!" I said, pasting an encouraging smile on my face. Elwin nodded, albeit a bit skeptical, as he walked back to his office. 

Once he'd gotten back into his office, my smile fell. Why on earth had my head started pounding so violently? Ugh, even thinking hurt! I just wanted Keefe. 

Keefe! I tried to transmit to him. 

I lacked the energy to do anything more than that. I felt like I did when I had reactions to Limbium, but all the pain was in my head this time. 

"SOPHIE!" 

What the-

"Sophie!" Keefe quietly yelled, his voice different from the one seconds before. He pushed the door open, anxiousness coating his features. "Are you okay?"

He rushed to my side, squatting down next to the cot and placing his hand on my cheek. 

"What's going on?"

"My head hurts really bad," I answered, gritting my teeth against the pain. Keefe's brows furrowed. 

"Did you tell Elwin?"

"I have a bad feeling that there's nothing he could do to help right now."

"Alright, okay..." Keefe trailed off, knowing to trust my judgement. "Is there something I can do to help?"

"Can you... can you just hold my hand?" I asked, trying not to cry out in pain. Keefe nodded quickly and moved his hands so they were both holding mine. 

Cold shot through me as our hands connected. I gasped as everything went dark.

"Sophie!"

"Keefe?"

"No, it's..." the extremely familiar voice trailed off before saying something more faintly, like the person was whispering. "Keefe, do I just say it's her?" 

Another voice chimed in, still quiet: "Ummm... sure! Just tell her it's Sophie from the past." 

"Sophie!"

"Keefe?" 

"I'm right here. Where are you? Are you okay?" Keefe said from somewhere behind me. Since when had he moved?

"I don't...." I trailed off. My headache had faded with the cold sensation, but the confusion of whatever was going on was starting to cause another one. That, and the encompassing dark that wasn't getting any brighter with time. 

"Sophie!" one of the voices started again. "It's me, you!"

A pause. 

"Sophie, I don't think..." came the second voice. 

"Who the heck are you people?" I heard Keefe call out. Actually, the previous voice sounded eerily similar to Keefe's....

Three voices began talking, all at once, and I couldn't take it anymore. After three kids, any overlapping voices had become a huge pet peeve.

"STOP!" I yelled, pushing everything out of my mind.  

Immediately, all the talking stopped, and a spark of light appeared in the dark. Just a circle of it, but enough that if the others walked into it, I would be able to see them. 

"Everyone walk to the light," I commanded. 

I started towards the circle, and I felt a light pressure on the small of my back. 

"It's just me, love," Keefe whispered, kissing the shell of my ear. I sighed, some of the tension of the situation falling off my shoulders. 

We walked into the light at the same time as the other two voices did and a gasp was dragged out of my chest. 

"That's what we've been trying to tell you," the girl said sheepishly. Wait, not the girl...me. The present me, not the younger version of me I was currently stuck in. Which meant...

"You're the Sophie and Keefe from the past," Keefe finished. 

"Precisely. Without the light, that was slightly harder to explain," the other Keefe chuckled.  

"So, we're here because..." Keefe trailed off. 

"Well, when we started sparkling, I kind of panicked and-" the other Sophie started.

"Oh!" I exclaimed as I interrupted. "I remember now!" 

Three sets of eyes looked at me expectantly. 

"Right, so the two of you kissed for the first time, triggering the switch back to our rightful times. Since the switch was already starting to take place, Sophie's panic drew us all together to switch back," I explained. I knew that headache hadn't been natural!

Keefe nodded as the memories seemingly came back to him. 

"Sophie's right. You'll go back to your time any secon-"

Everything went dark again. 

Well, our 'vacation' as Keefe had put it, was clearly over.