Montana Sky

Chapter 19: Full Moon Rising

Pariah dogs and wandering madmen
Barking at strangers and speaking in tongues
The ebb and flow of tidal fortune
Electrical changes are charging up the young
Whirlwind life of faith and betrayal
Rise in anger, fall back and repeat
Slow degrees on the dark horizon
Full moon rising lays silver at your feet
– Rush: Far Cry –

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Bradley walked slowly along the driveway, not really knowing where he was heading; the moon illuminated his path, the sky clear, dotted with stars. His body was tired, his muscles tense, every inch of him screaming for rest, but his mind prevented sleep, too full of worries and spinning with the horrors and challenges that possibly awaited him soon, if Irina didn't agree to take a step forward within the next twenty three hours. He rolled his shoulders, groaned at the stiffness and slight pain; he really didn't know how Stefani dealt with her body aches, how she was so unbelievably strong and never even complained, no matter how much she was hurting.

Stefani... even the thought of her brought tears to his eyes, the memory of her beautiful face in the moonlight just a moment ago; he had been utterly horrible towards her this week, so focused on his own problems, leaving her alone to handle hers. Watching her in the grips of the most awful flareup yet had been terrifying, the doctor talking about admitting her into the hospital if her blood pressure didn't settle and the fever didn't go down; he had been so scared she would be taken from him too, the fear making him unable to go see her much. Natali and Gloria had taken care of her mostly until Cynthia's arrival, keeping him updated, no judgement in their eyes at his behaviour though he really should have been there far more than he had managed to; Bradley had tried to apologize, repeatedly, but finding the right words had been difficult, finding any words at all.

Natali had been an unbelievable support, had looked after him too in addition to her sister; she and Sarah had teamed up, taking turns to be an almost constant presence on his side, prodding him gently in an effort to make him talk and as annoyed as he had sometimes felt, wanting to be left alone with his demons, he was still able to find it in himself to truly appreciate these very strong women. And the strongest of all had been Stefani, caring for him and constantly asking about him throughout the week, even when she had been only half-conscious and must have felt absolutely terrible; she had come to see him the moment she had been able to get up, walking far too long a distance to do so, and he loved her so damn much for it, as much as his numb heart was able to love right now.

Charlie trotted to him, gave his hand a little prod and Bradley smiled faintly, feeling unbelievably tired and weak now; he was forced to sit down to the side of the road, leaning his arms against his knees. He gently touched Charlie's soft leg, the site where the photographer had kicked the poor dog; despite having received an apology, Bradley still wanted to pretty much kill the man who had hurt his loyal friend like that, only because Charlie had defended Stefani and Lea with everything he had. The local vet had diagnosed Charlie with bruising and a very small muscle injury, prescribing mild painkillers and a couple of days' rest; back at home, the dog had been uneasy, limping from room to room as though looking for something. Carrying him to the master bedroom to see Stefani had immediately calmed him and he had laid down on the floor to keep watch over her, obviously understanding she wasn't okay; Bradley had swallowed tears at the dog's unbelievably caring nature, had created a bed for him out of soft blankets and Charlie had spent his sick leave mostly sleeping on it, waking to eat, drink and take toilet trips outside. He had recovered quickly and emerged as good as new, still regularly making his way upstairs to check on the blonde throughout the week.

"You really love her too, don't you? And you took care of her so well, while I was just a selfish moron." He rubbed the dog's ears gently, sighing; Charlie whined a little, prodded him again, obviously trying to get him back up and to the house for some rest. "I know, boy, we're both tired. All right, let's try to do this."