He was Happy

Chapter Eight. Guardian Angel

Patrick closed his door after he and Imee went inside. He then realized that she had no other clothes to wear. Imee stood nervously in front of him, hugging his jacket closer to her body.

Patrick sighed and began looking for a big enough shirt for her to wear. He then recalled Snow living with them briefly. She had left her things behind and he knew she wouldn't mind if he borrowed one or two things for Imee.

He excused himself for a moment and headed down the hall. He picked up the box that contained her things and pulled out a flowy purple nightgown.

"Perfect," he shoved the box back and returned to his room.

"So you have a sister dwarf too?" Imee looked down at the gown in his hand.

"Oh no, of course not. There are no girl dwarves."

"Then how do you--"

"It belonged to a friend. It should fit you." He held it out.

Imee slowly accepted the article of clothing. It felt silky against her fingertips and she could tell the material wasn't cheap.

"Just who is your friend?" Imee asked.

Patrick chuckled nervously. If he didn't know any better, he'd think Imee was a bit jealous of Snow White.

"Someone who was like a sister. I can show you where you can wash up if you'd like."

Imee nodded and allowed him to lead her down the hall. He opened the door to the bathroom that Snow used. They built it just for her; they thought it wouldn't be fair for her to share a bathroom with guys.

"Here you are," Patrick held the door for her.

Imee was surprised to see how nice the washroom was. The place looked so little from the outside, but somehow seemed spacious on the inside.

"Did this belong to your friend too?" Imee asked as she noticed a brush nearby. It was far too nice to belong to one of the dwarves.

"Imee, I'll wait for you in the hall." Patrick smiled as he shut the door.

Imee didn't appreciate how he evaded her questions, but she thought nothing more of it. She spotted a small tub. Beside it sat two buckets of water, one was cold and another had steam emitting from it. Unbeknownst to Imee, Watchy had set a small pot of water to boil for her.

She didn't question how the items appeared, she was just grateful that she could wash the dirt and grime off of her. She grabbed a small bar of soap and began to cleanse herself.

Once she was done, she left the bathroom and found Patrick standing against the opposite wall.

"Have you truly been here this whole time?"

"Where else would I be?" He smirked.

They walked back to his bedroom where he once again closed the door behind them.

"I could leave it opened if you'd like?" He suggested.

"Oh no, closed it quite alright with me."

"Very well,"

Imee looked down at her fingertips, unsure what else to say or do.

Patrick cleared his throat as he grabbed a pillow from the bed and an extra blanket from a chest.

"You rest well, Imee." He said as he began to lie on the floor.

Imee stood watching him. She thought he'd be uncomfortable and felt awful for putting him out of his own bed.

"You can have your bed. I'm a wolf after all, remember? I'm no stranger to the floor."

"Nonsense," Patrick waved away her offer with the shake of his head.

Imee thanked him softly before walking over to the bed. She pulled back the covers and got underneath them. She turned on her side facing away from Patrick.

She exhaled and closed her eyes. Sleep hadn't come so easy. Her mind drifted back to last night. The disappointment and disgust she felt in regards to her father clouded her head and she willed the tears not to come.

A hot tear fell down and then another. It wasn't long before she was sobbing.

Patrick turned his head towards Imee. He could make out her moving slightly, but assumed she was trying to get comfortable. He closed his eyes to go back to sleep and that's when he heard her silent cry.

"Imee?" He began to sit up.

"I'm fine. I'm having a bit of trouble falling to sleep is all."

Patrick made his way over to her and gently turned her towards him. She couldn't hide her wet face even if she wanted to. She tried to tell him to leave her be. He paid her no attention as he sat down and pulled her into a sitting position.

Her eyes questioned his actions, but she didn't resist him.

"Come here," He held her against him.

Again, Imee found herself in Patrick's warm arms crying her eyes out.

Normally she'd feel weak crying in front of others. However, Patrick made her feel safe and secure.

"I'm sorry," She whispered against his shoulder.

"You're human. It's perfectly normal to cry."

"Actually, I'm a werewolf," she argued.

"You're both, silly girl," He laughed.

A small laugh escaped from Imee too.

"Better?" He said once he felt her begin to pull away.

Imee nodded her head and slowly reached a hand out towards him. It landed on his chest and she could feel his heartbeat increase. Her own heart raced too.

"Thank you Patrick." She said genuinely. She leaned her lips towards his cheek and placed a delicate kiss there.

Patrick breath hitched when he felt her soft lips against his stubbled cheek. He gulped as he remembered to breathe.

"Good night Imee," He whispered. He needed to put distance between them. She was in a vulnerable enough state as it was and he didn't want her to think he'd take advantage of that.

"Wait," He faced her.

"Could you stay, just until I fall asleep?" She asked in a small voice.

"Sure," He replied. He watched her lie back once again and pull the sheets over her.

This time she lay on her back and looked over at him.

"Happy?"

"Hmm?"

"I can call you that right, we're friends?"

"You can call me whatever you wish, Imee. And yes, we're friends." He smiled.

"Good," She smiled back and closed her eyes.

As she fell asleep, her haunted memories of her parent's betrayal didn't return. Instead, her last waking thought was of her wondering if Patrick's lips were as kissable as they looked.