A Life Of 'Shine - Lem Fike

14

"They happened again." Nora whispered, standing in the doorway to Lem's own private quarters. The moon reflected the sorrow in her eyes, almost amplifying just how sad she was as she stood in it's direct rays. Lem  sat up on the bed, patting the space beside him to invite her to join him. She hesitated at first but slowly made her way over, sitting next to him with a sigh.

"It wasn't the boat this time. It was the last encounter with Hixon, all the fire. He was a lot stronger though, hell I woke up before he shot me." Her eyes squeezed shot, her head dropping down for her to rest in her hands which were cold to the touch. Lem slowly wrapped his arm slowly around her shoulders, bring her closer before embracing her in a soft hug.

"I'm starting to think that I should sleep next to you more often." He tried making light of the situation, not sure on what to say but his joke reflecting off of her sad exterior. He sighed, apologising but she shook her head.

"Don't be sorry, you're helping which is a lot better than anything else." She forced a smile, looking into his eyes. The soft blue colour they were drawing her in, captivating her. She found peace in his company, as if the nightmares couldn't harm her while she was close to him.

"I didn't mean to wake you." Lem had been quiet, lost in her eyes like she was in his. When she looked away was when he regained his composure, a small smile on his face to show no signs of being annoyed at the sudden awakening.

"You wake me up as much as you need. You never need to apologise." She nodded, curling up next him on the bed. The room was cold but by being next to Lemuel the bitter air proved to have no affect on either occupants in the house.

"We should go back to sleep. As far as I'm concerned, you've still got a fever and it's late." Lem chuckled, gently pushing her down to lie on the bed. She rolled her eyes, twisting her body to wrap her arms around Lem's torso as he led down beside her.
The male grabbed the thin excuse of a blanket he had, having given the thicker one to Nora earlier on that night.

The two fell asleep easily, cuddled next to eachother as they lay. As usual, Nora slept peacefully for the rest of that night. No distractions, no worries.

°°

That following moment of peace was cut short prematurely, a constant knocking at the front door waking both Nora and Lem from there slumber. Reluctantly, Lem climbed out of the warm bed with a frown glued to his face, grabbing a shirt from nearby and hastily putting it on as he rushed down the stairs.

Lem didn't know anyone who would be knocking so consistently, let alone so early in the morning. Given, he didn't actually know the time or how long him and Nora had been sleeping for.

He opened the door, frowning at the uninvited company- a person he did not recognise. The other person looked behind Lem and into the space, trying to find someone that wasn't the one who had answered the door for him.

"Sorry, I'm looking for Nora." The person spoke in an irish accent, once he had said a few words Lem had remembered the mentioned female mention an irishman she claimed to be friends with.

"Sean MacGuire?" Lemuel questioned, a brow raised as he took in the unkept appearance of the person stood before him although he was no better appearance wise. The irishman nodded with a smile although his attention was not on the male and still on the interior behind him.

"I'll grab her for you, just sit down at the table." Lem stepped out of the way, watching the irishman enter his home to make sure he didn't steal anything while away. While he didn't trust him entirely he couldn't wait downstairs while Nora remained upstairs unaware of her guest and so he retreated to his room to fetch the female.

"Your friend, Sean's here." He walked into the door, noticing how Nora had changed into wearing her chemise and pants instead of the gown she wore to bed. She looked up with a smile, her hands tangled in her hair as she carefully braided it to prevent it covering her face.

"I'll just put my boots on and be down, you go on and mingle." She smiled, finishing off the braid with a hair tie. Lem nodded, leaving the bedroom to join Sean in the living space- greeting the irishman with a hello before offering coffee.

"What brings you do our small home?" Nora asked as she appeared at the bottom of the stairs, the signature cheer on her face that she used when in greeting. Sean's head all but turned up to face her, his neck at a twisted angle to look at her from where he was seated.

"Call it a family visit, Welsh." Sean answered, while Nora did appreciate the company this "family visit" was something completely out of character for the boisterous Irishman, and so she was suspicious.

Nora nodded, dropping the smile and donning a neutral expression as she crossed the room to join the men at the table- purposefully pulling a chair up opposite Sean.

"What are you really here for? This "family visit" is completely out of the ordinary, especially for you and given how I've helped you Van Der Linde boys a couple of times with your heists or whatever I'm beginning to think that isn't a normal visit." Sean looked shocked, his eyes widened at the true revelation of his visit. He knew Nora was far from a fool but he never expected her to be so good a picking through a lie; after all, women weren't so well educated.

"Dutch wanted your help in robbing a stage and decided to use me as the messenger. I'll go tell him you're not interested." Sean confessed, standing up from the table with a reluctant sigh. Nora nodded in satisfaction, watching her friend as he slowly dragged himself out of the house as if Nora would take pity on him and change her mind.

"Do give him my best wishes will you, dear." The female teased, waving goodbye to Sean as he began to ride away. After he was out of her sights she shut the door with a sigh, turning on her heel to face a bewildered Lem Fike.

In silence, Nora walked back over to join him at the table, grabbing a mug of coffee as she passed by the counter and sipping the bitter substance as she sat down. Lem was silent as usual, barely talking to her which left them in a silence she couldn't quite describe as comfortable or uncomfortable.

The silence didn't last long as Nora broke into another fit of coughing, covering her mouth her hand in the way her mother taught her to be polite. Now Lem looked more worried rather than bewildered as he sat in her presence.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Her voice was hoarse, her throat sore from the coughs she underwent. Not convinced, Lem walked over to take a better look at her poor form. Her eyes were red and puffy as if she had been crying, which was that night that was probably cause from that. Her skin was paler than usual and from placing a hand on it, it felt cold and clammy.

"I've got some medicine, drink it." He held authority in his tone as if talking to a child who was not behaving accordingly. Nora frowned but didn't object to the care, taking the spoon from Lem's hands once he had filled it with the vile substance. She took a deep breathe and drank the medicine struggling to swallow for a moment before eventually succeeding in finishing the liquid.

"I feel like a child." She moaned, pouting at Lem as he put the medicine back in the cupboard that sat above the window. He looked down at her, sharing the same look of sympathy in his eye before crouching down to her level.

"You won't complain once you get better, so be quiet." He was joking of course, gently tapping Nora on the nose before resuming his cleaning of the small kitchen space. While Nora wasn't well, Maggie granted the pair to have a couple days off for the female to recoved- of course Lem had to bend the truth and claim her to be bed ridden in order to get the break.

"I love you." She called out, while he paid it no mind deliberately trying to annoy as he had learned to do the past few days. Nora could only shaker her head in a disapproving tone, walking away from the table and into the spare bedroom she lay claim too. While she could have entered the private area to sulk, she was not going to cry due to someone being a deliberate tease and instead she entered the room with the intentions of lying down, much like she had done when she had first felt ill.