Because She Loved Him

Temptation Part III

Bjorn did his absolute best not to react, not to show that anything was amiss. What on EARTH was she thinking?? he thought frantically. He had to keep both hands on the table. Her hand crept up further and god damn it all he felt himself responding. Benny looked at him curiously "you ok Bjorn?" he asked "yes I'm fine" he snapped, much harsher than he intended. Benny rolled his eyes and Frida glared at him. " Can we get on and do something constructive do you think?" Bjorn deflected attention from him curtly. He never stopped to consider why he hadn't just removed Lena's hand. The realisation that by not putting a stop to Lena there and then had led to a catastrophic chain of events that changed everybody's world did not come to Bjorn until it was far, far too late.
For now, Lena removed her hand and Bjorn got up and left the room to put his paperwork away and head into the studio. Benny followed giving Frida and Agnetha a kiss on the cheek each. Suddenly it was just the three women in the room. Agnetha, Frida and Lena. The silence was not comfortable. Frida got up and said " Right I suppose we ought to go and do something useful darling. We have to practice "kisses of fire" I can't decide whether the boys are testing us to see how far we can go or trying to kill us!" she laughed, hoping that Agnetha would laugh too. Frida was gratified to see Agnetha grin good naturedly. " They just know how good we really are" Agnetha teased back. "They know they couldn't do it without us"she laughed. They were distracted by Lena getting up from the table and laughing. "From what I see the songwriters are the important ones, anyone can sing but without the songs there is nothing to sing. It's you two who would be nothing without them" With that Lena left the room leaving a stunned silence behind her, only broken by Frida's "well, well, the little cat has finally shown her claws" Frida took no notice of what Lena had said, she was secure with her place in the world. She knew that Abba's sound was unique and that came only from the mix of the four of them and she knew that Benny and she loved each other passionately. Agnetha on the other hand could not help but let those words take root in her mind. Her insecurities were always there, since she was young, she was good at hiding them but with Bjorn acting the way he was it felt like the ground was shifting beneath her feet. It felt like her worst nightmare was coming true.
Agnetha and Frida were back in the booth restarting the vocals to kisses of fire. Agnetha was seated facing the mixing desk and Frida to her right facing her. Agnetha looked at Frida and smiled as Frida nodded. She took a deep breath and let her voice soar. She knew she could lose herself in the music and for this time she could forget all of her worries. She came to end of the verse and looked up to see Benny smiling at them. He made the sign to go again. Bjorn was concentrated on the sound board and though she waited for him to make eye contact with her, he did not. She sighed and settled herself ready to do another take. Frida took a sip of water
and waited for Benny's signal. Off they went again, this time Agnetha gave it everything she had and she and Frida nailed it. Benny was smiling widely and giving a massive thumbs up, Bjorn looked up and smiled. For Anna, that was enough.
They came out of the booth and they joined the boys by the mixing desk. Agnetha collapsed into the chair, Frida perched on the side of Benny's chair and said " how did we do? Was that ok?" Benny smiled and said "that was perfect, couldn't have done it better, tomorrow we can record the harmonies. I'm really pleased Frida, proud of you" he kissed her and wrapped her up in his arms. Agnetha smiled to see them but her chest had a funny ache in it. She sighed and watched Bjorn. Benny came to her side and gave her a comforting hug, he kissed the top of her head with real affection " Anna, you smashed it and you know it. You've done really well and I know it's been a difficult day for you. Thank you" Agnetha smiled at Benny and returned his hug. She kissed him on the cheek. "Ok, Bjorn time to go home. It's been a long day for all of us and you two haven't seen your kids for two days, you need to go get them" Bjorn looked up "what?" He questioned. Benny rolled his eyes exasperatedly and said "we need to go home, you need to see the kids, Anna needs to rest" Bjorn wanted to carry on and looking at his watch he said "it's only 1730, we can work for a few more hours. We need to get the first set of harmonies done" Benny rolled his eyes and said "Bjorn, we didn't leave here until nearly 3am this morning, you woke me at 8 and we've been here since 1130!! I am absolutely exhausted and I know the girls are too. They've laid down a stunning vocal track. We will all come back tomorrow. Agnetha needs to get the children!" Frida chimed in " I'm hungry and Anna hasn't been feeling well since this morning, we need to go" That got Benny and Bjorn's attention. Benny swung back round to look at the girls and Bjorn finally focused on something other than the mixing desk. " What do you mean you haven't been feeling well?" asked Benny concerned. Bjorn stood up and stretched and also questioned Agnetha. "Oh it's nothing, like Bjorn says I always fuss and worry too much, I feel sick and a bit dizzy but I'm just tired. My throat is sore but don't worry Bjorn I can stay and sing"
Before Bjorn could respond both Benny and Frida said "no, we are doing no more today, we are tired too and we haven't eaten anything since breakfast. No offence, but I'd like to eat and sleep in my own house tonight added Frida. We've had a stressful few days with one thing and another" Bjorn felt bad, he had not noticed that Agnetha wasn't feeling well, he normally did. He pondered how she had managed to put in such a powerful vocal when she was feeling ill. It really was going to be their final take. Benny was right it was stunning. He didn't want to go home though, he wanted to stay and work it through and be ready for tomorrow. He sighed inwardly, he was outvoted again on this one, the other three were tired and even Benny had said no. He just couldn't understand their lack of commitment, in the old days he and Benny would work for days and nights straight and the girls never minded, sometimes they would stay with them. He missed those days when it was just the four of them. He suddenly realised Benny was talking to him. "What? What did you say?" he asked. "Jesus!! I must be tired" Benny groused. "You're even irritating me now! Could you at least try to listen?? We were saying that you need to get the kids and go home and eat and could you get ready to go because Anna's car is still in the garage. Bjorn will you get some sleep and come back tomorrow focused on us rather than what's going on in your weird head! " Bjorn apologised and agreed. He got himself ready to go, looking longingly at the mixing desk as he did but he knew he had things he needed to do.
They got into their respective cars and headed home. Agnetha was very quiet, she didn't know what to say to break the heavy silence and she was starting to feel worse. Her head was pounding and her throat was sore. All she wanted was to see her children and sleep. She didn't feel like eating, in fact she thought she was going to be sick. She put her hand on Bjorn's thigh as she always did in the car and squeezed gently before she put her head back on the seat and closed her eyes. She hoped it would make her stomach stop churning. Bjorn looked at her properly for the first time since this morning and was alarmed to note her pale face and it looked like she was sweating. "Are you alright?" he asked. "I'm fine Bjorn, I'll be fine when we get home. Don't worry about me. I'm sorry" He rubbed her hand and felt that it was cold. He drove them straight to her parents and he told her to stay in the car while he collected both children. He didn't think it was a good idea for her to be in and out of the cold. When he held his children in his arms he felt so differently again. He loved them with every fibre of his being and even he couldn't understand why he was so unsettled and feeling the way he was. He knew he had behaved badly today. He said his goodbyes to Agnetha's parents having explained to them that Agnetha was not feeling well and she was staying in the car. He thanked them for having the children and took his leave of them. He carried the children to the car and settled them in safely. They were both sleepy. He got into the car and looked at Agnetha, she was asleep. He put his hand on her forehead and was concerned to feel that she definitely had a temperature. He made sure everyone was buckled in safely and made the drive home.
Parking his car in the driveway Bjorn focused on his little family. He carried Christian in first, he was too small to stay in the cold for too long, he popped him in his playpen temporarily. He went back for Linda and their various bags. Linda was very sleepy so he propped her safely on the sofa so she wouldn't fall off. He went back out to wake Agnetha. He leant into the car and unbuckled her seatbelt. "Anna, wake up, come on we're home, the kids are indoors. Anna? Wake up darling" he shook her shoulder gently. She murmured and her eyes opened. " Bjorn, I'm so sorry, I don't feel great. I'll be fine when I'm indoors" she swung her legs out of the car. The wave of nausea that assaulted her made her moan but she tried to get to her feet. Bjorn grabbed her arm to stop her falling. He was seriously concerned now. He felt terribly guilty that he had not noticed how ill she was. She would never make it back to the house and it was snowing very heavily now. He bent and swung her up into his arms and jogged to the house with her. He put her down gently on the sofa next to Linda. Linda looked at her mother and at Bjorn and said " Mama's sick Papa. Help her" "I will darling, she'll be fine" He went back to the car and collected the rest of their things and made sure to shut and lock the car.
Back indoors he got the kids out of their outdoor things and settled them down. He then went to deal with Agnetha. He woke her again and took her coat and boots off. He managed to get her to swallow some paracetamol and some water then he carried her upstairs. She smiled gently and said "you promised me that you'd carry me until we're old and grey" her voice was croaky and scratchy. "Am I grey?" Bjorn smiled as he shouldered his way into the bedroom " No my Anna you will always be my blonde, beautiful bombshell, you're just ill" He placed her carefully on the bed and studied her. She looked terrible. "Can you get yourself undressed or do you need help?" " I can do it" she said. " You have enough with the kids, I'll just sleep for an hour and I'll feel much better" they were interrupted by Christian crying and Agnetha tried to stand but her dizziness overwhelmed her and she fell back onto the bed. " Bjorn could you go and get him, he's hungry, I can do that. I can feed him if I sit still" she was desperate to see their children and Bjorn couldn't deny her this even if he thought she needed to sleep. He went back downstairs and picked up a very cross baby. He held out a hand to Linda and said "come on upstairs baby, you want to cuddle with Mama? It would make her feel better" Linda's smile was like a little sunbeam and she slipped upstairs in front of Bjorn. He bought Christian into the room and put him on the side of the bed while he helped Agnetha to sit up. She was weak and dizzy but she wanted her baby. Bjorn put Christian into Agnetha's arms and he immediately stopped crying. The bond between mother and son was strong and intense. Bjorn felt jealousy pierce him, he used to have that strong bond with Agnetha but since the children had come he felt that the bond had weakened. He pushed away the feelings, it was not right. She looked at him and smiled. She leant towards him and said "I love you" it was like she knew that Bjorn needed reassurance. He shook his head and wondered if it were possible that she was so in tune with him. If she was why was he so out of kilter? "Come and sit with us Bjorn please, don't leave me alone" she reached out a hand and he could not resist her plea. "Ok, let's get us sorted then. He pulled the blankets out from under her and covered as much of her as he could. He picked Linda back up and settled her under the blankets next to her mother, he toed his shoes off and got out of his jeans, they were wet at the bottom and changed into a pair of sweats. Agnetha's eyes never left him. He smiled and got into the bed next to her sorting the covers out around them. Agnetha sorted herself out so she could feed Christian. Once he was happy she put her other arm around Linda and she snuggled in. Bjorn put his arm around Agnetha and she laid her head on his right shoulder, Bjorn moved in closer so that the angle was not awkward and he could warm her. He bought his knees up and twined his leg with her's. He kissed the top of her head and watched Christian feeding. Linda had fallen asleep . He rested his free hand on top of her head and then closed his eyes for a minute.
At peace.