Seventeen Steps (23/?)
Jul. 23rd, 2010 07:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
million_starTitle: Seventeen Steps (23/?)
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
millionstar
Pairing: Belldom
Rating: Will vary, this chapter PG
Warnings: None, unless the fact that this is a Paige-heavy chapter, and a Matthew/Dominic light chapter is a warning?
Overall Summary: Matthew is intrigued by his newest neighbor.
Feedback: Would be lovely, if you are so inclined.
Disclaimer: I don't own Muse; the following is pure fiction.
A/N: As always, thanks todolce_piccante, myz_bee & frolicandfall. Couldn't do this without you three. Thanks, my lovely ladies, for your help & support. <3
One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten-a, Ten-b, Ten-c, Xmas Eve, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen-a, Sixteen-b, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty-One, Twenty-Two
The three of them sat together in a nervous silence.
Occasionally the brunet would squeeze the hand belonging to the girl with the golden hair, getting a sweet smile in return for his efforts. On the other side of the young woman sat her twin brother, drumming his hands nervously against his knees. The girl occasionally glared good-naturedly at him, smoothing the hair from his eyes in an effort to alleviate his nervousness.
She knew one thing: no matter what the results from her recent scans were, she was incredibly blessed to have these two supportive men in her life. She'd kept it from the two of them, but she was in fact a ball of nerves herself as they waited for her results. It was just as good if the two of them never had to know she'd cried herself to sleep the past two nights.
The doctor, when he strolled into the office, seemed surprised to see three people waiting for him instead of just one. He frowned and glanced at the chart in his hand.
Patient: Paige Howard.
Diagnosis: non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Progression:...
Ah. I see., he thought.
He cleared his throat, the sound causing the two young men to jump out of their seats. The young woman rolled her eyes.
"Lads, I don't bite, I promise," the physician announced as he sat down at his desk.
"They're especially jumpy," Paige replied, punching Dominic in the arm, her twin's mouth stuck open in an 'O' shape as he massaged his bicep.
The doctor smiled. "Ouch. Brutal."
Tom laughed lowly. "It's all a ruse. They actually love each other so much it's-." Both twins glared at him, causing him to put his hands up in apology. "Sorry, sorry!" he laughed.
"Let's do this, shall we?"
At the doctor's words the three of them went silent again. He looked directly at Paige, a hint of seriousness creeping into his voice.
"I usually prefer to do this one-on-one with my patients, Miss Howard. But, I assume you would prefer your friend and brother to remain, am I right?"
"Yes," she whispered. "Please?"
He nodded, opening the file before him. "Understood. Okay then. You've had a rough few months, that's for sure. And I have to tell you that you've handled yourself beautifully." The pages crinkled as he turned them. His eyes squinted at what he was reading and he glanced at Paige. "What about the memory loss, are you still experiencing that?"
She nodded, frowning to herself.
"That's normal, don't worry; it will fade in time. How's the arm? The lymphedema getting any better at all?"
She blushed, but pulled her shirt sleeve up, revealing a swollen patch on her upper arm. "It is, even though it still looks awful. It's going down, though."
He nodded. "Good. Keep an eye on it, though, and contact me if it worsens. I also want you to put some more weight on, yes? 6st 10lb... that won't do," he proclaimed sternly.
"I keep telling her that as well. I try to cook for her all I can," Dominic interrupted, the doctor smiling his approval. Paige squeezed her brother's hand.
"My appetite just isn't there these days," she frowned.
"I can't stress just how important that a healthy diet is right now. Missing meals is unacceptable. It's critical, especially now, to keep your strength up. With your exit paperwork I will be sure to provide you with some pamphlets that can help."
Paige stared. "Exit paperwork? What's that?"
The physician looked up. "I'm turning you over to your local GP. You're officially cancer-free, Paige."
Paige focused on the oncologist's mouth, the room slowly going out of focus. He kept speaking, though none of it was registering in her mind at that moment. The fact that physicians seemed to speak in such non-commital voices still baffled her. This was the best news in the history of news and he was sitting there like he'd just read something out of the encyclopedia. She was dimly aware of Tom grinning like a loon, and of Dominic actually standing and enveloping the doctor in a bear hug, the doctor chuckling into the blond's ever present leather jacket.
The daftest things flooded her mind suddenly... thoughts of needles, pain, disgust, sorrow... but most of all, thoughts of fear and uncertainty. Of what Dominic would do if something had happened to her, of how it would be typical to lose her life just as she had found Tom. Of how none of it was fair in the least.
Of how she desperately didn't want to die. These things lingered, still. She was only human, how could they not?
Now, presented with the ability to be able to exorcise those thoughts completely, she was a little overwhelmed. She couldn't help it; call it a defense mechanism but she had somewhat resigned herself to her fate. For so long she'd not been able to see a future in front of her, had decided that it was best not to plan too far ahead. Of course she'd said all the right things in front of Dominic, but she really hadn't seen a light at the end of the tunnel for weeks now.
Not until now at least.
Paige stood, the tears threatening to spill over. As much as she loved her brother and was grateful that Tom was in her life when they did there was only one person she wanted to see them, even now, even after all this. She placed a quick kiss to Tom's cheek before glancing at Dominic and then to the door.
"Go on." He smiled as a tear splashed onto his jacket, kissing her on the forehead affectionately.
Suddenly she smiled to herself as she opened the door and took off down the hallway.
The light at the end of this particular journey's tunnel was standing at the end of the corridor. He had opted to remain outside while Dominic and Tom accompanied Paige inside for her results. He was pacing back and forth, glancing at his watch, but at the sound of furious footsteps thundering towards him he looked up. Upon seeing her heading his way he began to run towards her. They met in the middle and she practically jumped into his arms. She held on to him tightly as she could, burying her wet nose in his neck. When she finally looked at him more thoughts arose in her mind, primarily of Christmas Eve when she broke down in front of the man before her, of how he told her not to worry, that she could lean on him if she needed to.
Matthew held her face in his hands, using his fingertips to brush her tears away. He searched her face for a clue as to what had just happened but she merely continued crying. He raised her chin with one of his hands.
"What happened? Are we okay, love?" he asked anxiously. His stomach began to do nervous flips when he got no response. Please, he thought, please don't let all her suffering have been for nothing.
She smiled to herself at his choice of words. It was so like Matthew to ask "are we okay" instead of "are you okay". It was also like him to insist on being here, even though today was his birthday. He had insisted on putting any birthday talk on hold, instead choosing to focus on Paige and this important appointment.
He tried again. "Please, talk to me. Are we okay?"
The girl with the golden hair took a deep breath and grinned through her tears. She bit her lip and nodded furiously, sniffling. When she spoke it was in a broken whisper.
"It's gone. We're okay."
His eyes widened as a grin blazed across his face. "Yeah?" he whispered excitedly.
"Yeah," she nodded, wiping her eyes as he pulled her as close as he possibly could. He picked her up and twirled her a couple times, Paige giggling happily. Matthew released her, his hands smoothing her hair gently.
"That's my girl," he nodded, happy tears threatening to marr his blue eyes. "I knew you would beat it. I just knew it. Oh, I'm so proud of you."
She nodded, smoothing the hair from his eyes much the same way she had done with Dominic earlier. "I need to say... you know I love you, right, Matthew?" she said suddenly.
"I do." He kissed her cheek sweetly, handing her his handkerchief. "And I love you too, sweet girl." She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath.
"I should get back in there, I don't quite think that the doctor was through with me," she said sheepishly.
"Go on," he said softly. "I'll be here."
A few minutes later Matthew was standing at the window looking out at the city when he felt a pair of arms envelop him from behind. Dominic rested his head on the brunet's shoulder, Matthew leaning back into him.
"You know, I don't even need to turn around. I can feel the smile on your face," Matthew murmured, covering Dominic's hands with his own on his stomach. The blonde placed a soft kiss to Matthew's cheek.
"Can you blame me? I have so much to smile about right now."
Matthew turned so he could hold Dominic properly. He hated to see tears in those grey eyes, but the reason for them being there, well, he couldn't argue with that at all.
"It's like everything's falling into place," Dominic continued. "Do you feel it too?"
"I do." He leaned in and rested his cheek against the blond's, the two of them holding each other in the empty hallway.
"God, you make me so happy," Dominic mumbled. Matthew raised his head and kissed him sweetly until the two of them heard a familiar groan.
"Oh, for the love of all that is good and holy," Paige admonished, "not again! This is a hospital, you two. Control yourselves!"
They broke apart reluctantly, but with grins on their faces, and the four of them went their separate ways, Dominc and Matthew heading out for lunch, Tom and Paige intent on giving Chris and Kelly the good news.
Later that evening Tom stood at the door of the twins' flat, acting as lookout while Paige darted seventeen steps down the hall to slide a blue envelope under Matthew's door. Mission accomplished, the two of them ducked back inside.
"Well done. Very stealthy," Tom laughed as they sat down on the couch.
"Oi!" She protested, poking him in the chest. "I didn't see you volunteering to do it. The way you stood and watched me do all the work was brilliant, though. You leaned against that door masterfully!"
"I only insisted you deliver the note because I like watching you walk away from me in those jeans," he admitted cheekily.
She blushed, despite her mouth falling open in horror. "I'm disturbed, yet oddly flattered by that." When he said nothing in return she looked up to see him staring at her.
"What is it?" she blushed, laughing nervously.
He merely smiled, saying nothing.
"Tom, seriously, what is it?"
"Nothing. Was just thinking," he replied, inching closer to her on the couch.
"Thinking what?"
"That you're beautiful," he answered instantly, Paige scooting closer to him until they were finally face to face. A sudden case of nerves caused her to swallow and look away.
"Nice try, but I know better. I cried so much today," she said quietly, "and it shows, even now. My face is still swollen."
Tom leaned in, placing one hand on her cheek, his eyes darting across her face. "Nope, still beautiful," he whispered.
Her arms slid around his neck as their lips met softly. After a few moments he laid back on the couch, pulling her to him. Paige summoned all her courage and decided to do something that she'd been wanting to for the longest time. She unbuttoned the top two buttons on his shirt and spread it open, smiling to herself when his chest hair tickled her cheek as she rested against his bare skin. When her arms snaked around Tom's body they both shivered.
"Stay with me," she said suddenly, closing her eyes while making herself comfortable. "Dom's gonna spend the night with Matthew."
"Spending the night with Matt? You do realize that this means they won't find the card till morning, when they finally come up for air," he groaned.
The couch shook as Paige burst out laughing, a smile slowly stretching Tom's lips at such a wonderful sound.
"Wait, you mean you'll be here alone?"
"Well, it took some work but I managed to convince Dom that I wanted a night to myself. But I think he understood that I meant that I wanted to spend some uninterrupted time with you. Please?"
Tom's breath hitched in his throat at her words, at the prospect of being able to hold her all night, but he managed to recover enough to answer her.
"Of course I'll stay, love" he replied happily, Paige grinning into his chest at the use of that particular endearment. "What do you want to do?"
For a fleeting moment she had the undeniable urge to rip the shirt from his body completely so she could place a kiss to his bare nipple, but she managed to squash it. The two of them had decided to take it slow, she reminded herself; there was plenty of time for her to perve on him properly.
"This. Just this," she whispered into his chest, Tom reaching behind them to switch out the lamp. Once the darkness surrounded them he wrapped his arms around her tightly.
That night, for the first night in months, the girl with the golden hair slept soundly.
Author:
millionstar Pairing: Belldom
Rating: Will vary, this chapter PG
Warnings: None, unless the fact that this is a Paige-heavy chapter, and a Matthew/Dominic light chapter is a warning?
Overall Summary: Matthew is intrigued by his newest neighbor.
Feedback: Would be lovely, if you are so inclined.
Disclaimer: I don't own Muse; the following is pure fiction.
A/N: As always, thanks to
dolce_piccante, myz_bee & frolicandfall. Couldn't do this without you three. Thanks, my lovely ladies, for your help & support. <3 One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten-a, Ten-b, Ten-c, Xmas Eve, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen-a, Sixteen-b, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty-One, Twenty-Two
The three of them sat together in a nervous silence.
Occasionally the brunet would squeeze the hand belonging to the girl with the golden hair, getting a sweet smile in return for his efforts. On the other side of the young woman sat her twin brother, drumming his hands nervously against his knees. The girl occasionally glared good-naturedly at him, smoothing the hair from his eyes in an effort to alleviate his nervousness.
She knew one thing: no matter what the results from her recent scans were, she was incredibly blessed to have these two supportive men in her life. She'd kept it from the two of them, but she was in fact a ball of nerves herself as they waited for her results. It was just as good if the two of them never had to know she'd cried herself to sleep the past two nights.
The doctor, when he strolled into the office, seemed surprised to see three people waiting for him instead of just one. He frowned and glanced at the chart in his hand.
Patient: Paige Howard.
Diagnosis: non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Progression:...
Ah. I see., he thought.
He cleared his throat, the sound causing the two young men to jump out of their seats. The young woman rolled her eyes.
"Lads, I don't bite, I promise," the physician announced as he sat down at his desk.
"They're especially jumpy," Paige replied, punching Dominic in the arm, her twin's mouth stuck open in an 'O' shape as he massaged his bicep.
The doctor smiled. "Ouch. Brutal."
Tom laughed lowly. "It's all a ruse. They actually love each other so much it's-." Both twins glared at him, causing him to put his hands up in apology. "Sorry, sorry!" he laughed.
"Let's do this, shall we?"
At the doctor's words the three of them went silent again. He looked directly at Paige, a hint of seriousness creeping into his voice.
"I usually prefer to do this one-on-one with my patients, Miss Howard. But, I assume you would prefer your friend and brother to remain, am I right?"
"Yes," she whispered. "Please?"
He nodded, opening the file before him. "Understood. Okay then. You've had a rough few months, that's for sure. And I have to tell you that you've handled yourself beautifully." The pages crinkled as he turned them. His eyes squinted at what he was reading and he glanced at Paige. "What about the memory loss, are you still experiencing that?"
She nodded, frowning to herself.
"That's normal, don't worry; it will fade in time. How's the arm? The lymphedema getting any better at all?"
She blushed, but pulled her shirt sleeve up, revealing a swollen patch on her upper arm. "It is, even though it still looks awful. It's going down, though."
He nodded. "Good. Keep an eye on it, though, and contact me if it worsens. I also want you to put some more weight on, yes? 6st 10lb... that won't do," he proclaimed sternly.
"I keep telling her that as well. I try to cook for her all I can," Dominic interrupted, the doctor smiling his approval. Paige squeezed her brother's hand.
"My appetite just isn't there these days," she frowned.
"I can't stress just how important that a healthy diet is right now. Missing meals is unacceptable. It's critical, especially now, to keep your strength up. With your exit paperwork I will be sure to provide you with some pamphlets that can help."
Paige stared. "Exit paperwork? What's that?"
The physician looked up. "I'm turning you over to your local GP. You're officially cancer-free, Paige."
Paige focused on the oncologist's mouth, the room slowly going out of focus. He kept speaking, though none of it was registering in her mind at that moment. The fact that physicians seemed to speak in such non-commital voices still baffled her. This was the best news in the history of news and he was sitting there like he'd just read something out of the encyclopedia. She was dimly aware of Tom grinning like a loon, and of Dominic actually standing and enveloping the doctor in a bear hug, the doctor chuckling into the blond's ever present leather jacket.
The daftest things flooded her mind suddenly... thoughts of needles, pain, disgust, sorrow... but most of all, thoughts of fear and uncertainty. Of what Dominic would do if something had happened to her, of how it would be typical to lose her life just as she had found Tom. Of how none of it was fair in the least.
Of how she desperately didn't want to die. These things lingered, still. She was only human, how could they not?
Now, presented with the ability to be able to exorcise those thoughts completely, she was a little overwhelmed. She couldn't help it; call it a defense mechanism but she had somewhat resigned herself to her fate. For so long she'd not been able to see a future in front of her, had decided that it was best not to plan too far ahead. Of course she'd said all the right things in front of Dominic, but she really hadn't seen a light at the end of the tunnel for weeks now.
Not until now at least.
Paige stood, the tears threatening to spill over. As much as she loved her brother and was grateful that Tom was in her life when they did there was only one person she wanted to see them, even now, even after all this. She placed a quick kiss to Tom's cheek before glancing at Dominic and then to the door.
"Go on." He smiled as a tear splashed onto his jacket, kissing her on the forehead affectionately.
Suddenly she smiled to herself as she opened the door and took off down the hallway.
The light at the end of this particular journey's tunnel was standing at the end of the corridor. He had opted to remain outside while Dominic and Tom accompanied Paige inside for her results. He was pacing back and forth, glancing at his watch, but at the sound of furious footsteps thundering towards him he looked up. Upon seeing her heading his way he began to run towards her. They met in the middle and she practically jumped into his arms. She held on to him tightly as she could, burying her wet nose in his neck. When she finally looked at him more thoughts arose in her mind, primarily of Christmas Eve when she broke down in front of the man before her, of how he told her not to worry, that she could lean on him if she needed to.
Matthew held her face in his hands, using his fingertips to brush her tears away. He searched her face for a clue as to what had just happened but she merely continued crying. He raised her chin with one of his hands.
"What happened? Are we okay, love?" he asked anxiously. His stomach began to do nervous flips when he got no response. Please, he thought, please don't let all her suffering have been for nothing.
She smiled to herself at his choice of words. It was so like Matthew to ask "are we okay" instead of "are you okay". It was also like him to insist on being here, even though today was his birthday. He had insisted on putting any birthday talk on hold, instead choosing to focus on Paige and this important appointment.
He tried again. "Please, talk to me. Are we okay?"
The girl with the golden hair took a deep breath and grinned through her tears. She bit her lip and nodded furiously, sniffling. When she spoke it was in a broken whisper.
"It's gone. We're okay."
His eyes widened as a grin blazed across his face. "Yeah?" he whispered excitedly.
"Yeah," she nodded, wiping her eyes as he pulled her as close as he possibly could. He picked her up and twirled her a couple times, Paige giggling happily. Matthew released her, his hands smoothing her hair gently.
"That's my girl," he nodded, happy tears threatening to marr his blue eyes. "I knew you would beat it. I just knew it. Oh, I'm so proud of you."
She nodded, smoothing the hair from his eyes much the same way she had done with Dominic earlier. "I need to say... you know I love you, right, Matthew?" she said suddenly.
"I do." He kissed her cheek sweetly, handing her his handkerchief. "And I love you too, sweet girl." She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath.
"I should get back in there, I don't quite think that the doctor was through with me," she said sheepishly.
"Go on," he said softly. "I'll be here."
A few minutes later Matthew was standing at the window looking out at the city when he felt a pair of arms envelop him from behind. Dominic rested his head on the brunet's shoulder, Matthew leaning back into him.
"You know, I don't even need to turn around. I can feel the smile on your face," Matthew murmured, covering Dominic's hands with his own on his stomach. The blonde placed a soft kiss to Matthew's cheek.
"Can you blame me? I have so much to smile about right now."
Matthew turned so he could hold Dominic properly. He hated to see tears in those grey eyes, but the reason for them being there, well, he couldn't argue with that at all.
"It's like everything's falling into place," Dominic continued. "Do you feel it too?"
"I do." He leaned in and rested his cheek against the blond's, the two of them holding each other in the empty hallway.
"God, you make me so happy," Dominic mumbled. Matthew raised his head and kissed him sweetly until the two of them heard a familiar groan.
"Oh, for the love of all that is good and holy," Paige admonished, "not again! This is a hospital, you two. Control yourselves!"
They broke apart reluctantly, but with grins on their faces, and the four of them went their separate ways, Dominc and Matthew heading out for lunch, Tom and Paige intent on giving Chris and Kelly the good news.
Later that evening Tom stood at the door of the twins' flat, acting as lookout while Paige darted seventeen steps down the hall to slide a blue envelope under Matthew's door. Mission accomplished, the two of them ducked back inside.
"Well done. Very stealthy," Tom laughed as they sat down on the couch.
"Oi!" She protested, poking him in the chest. "I didn't see you volunteering to do it. The way you stood and watched me do all the work was brilliant, though. You leaned against that door masterfully!"
"I only insisted you deliver the note because I like watching you walk away from me in those jeans," he admitted cheekily.
She blushed, despite her mouth falling open in horror. "I'm disturbed, yet oddly flattered by that." When he said nothing in return she looked up to see him staring at her.
"What is it?" she blushed, laughing nervously.
He merely smiled, saying nothing.
"Tom, seriously, what is it?"
"Nothing. Was just thinking," he replied, inching closer to her on the couch.
"Thinking what?"
"That you're beautiful," he answered instantly, Paige scooting closer to him until they were finally face to face. A sudden case of nerves caused her to swallow and look away.
"Nice try, but I know better. I cried so much today," she said quietly, "and it shows, even now. My face is still swollen."
Tom leaned in, placing one hand on her cheek, his eyes darting across her face. "Nope, still beautiful," he whispered.
Her arms slid around his neck as their lips met softly. After a few moments he laid back on the couch, pulling her to him. Paige summoned all her courage and decided to do something that she'd been wanting to for the longest time. She unbuttoned the top two buttons on his shirt and spread it open, smiling to herself when his chest hair tickled her cheek as she rested against his bare skin. When her arms snaked around Tom's body they both shivered.
"Stay with me," she said suddenly, closing her eyes while making herself comfortable. "Dom's gonna spend the night with Matthew."
"Spending the night with Matt? You do realize that this means they won't find the card till morning, when they finally come up for air," he groaned.
The couch shook as Paige burst out laughing, a smile slowly stretching Tom's lips at such a wonderful sound.
"Wait, you mean you'll be here alone?"
"Well, it took some work but I managed to convince Dom that I wanted a night to myself. But I think he understood that I meant that I wanted to spend some uninterrupted time with you. Please?"
Tom's breath hitched in his throat at her words, at the prospect of being able to hold her all night, but he managed to recover enough to answer her.
"Of course I'll stay, love" he replied happily, Paige grinning into his chest at the use of that particular endearment. "What do you want to do?"
For a fleeting moment she had the undeniable urge to rip the shirt from his body completely so she could place a kiss to his bare nipple, but she managed to squash it. The two of them had decided to take it slow, she reminded herself; there was plenty of time for her to perve on him properly.
"This. Just this," she whispered into his chest, Tom reaching behind them to switch out the lamp. Once the darkness surrounded them he wrapped his arms around her tightly.
That night, for the first night in months, the girl with the golden hair slept soundly.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-07-25 03:53 pm (UTC)Thank you for such a lovely chapter 8D
no subject
Date: 2010-07-25 07:18 pm (UTC)