Forever Yours

19. Ball

"I'm not," she assured him.  "I have a pen pal I write to every three days.  He knows almost everything about me and vice versa.  I know him personally as well.  Trust me, Adam.  I'm not alone.  Thank you for you concern though."

"You're welcome," he said with a smile.  "Take care."

"I will.  Bye, Adam.  And thank you."

He waved.  "No problem.  I'll be back when you need more."  

With that exchange over with, Lucy shut the door behind him.  She leaned up against it and took a few deep breaths.  She didn't tell him that she had started to feel dizzy when she got up that morning.  All day she had been running around the house, keeping busy, and trying to ignore the fact that she felt so weak and drained.  She hadn't really noticed that she had taken the last tonic.  She was glad Adam was keeping up with it.  She never had called him Dr. Winston, but she'd heard a lot of great things about him.  She first consulted him at the party where Jo had met Chad and he had been more than happy to help her.  He was a very sweet guy, handsome and tall.  It was no wonder all the nurses seemed to adore him, something she'd noticed on her various visits to the hospital.  She stood up straight.  She didn't have time to be weak or feel bad.  Not today of all days.  She was going to be spending the night with Severus.  There was no room for her disease today.

That being the only thought in her mind at the moment, she ran back to the bedroom.  She was going to go ahead and take the tonic now, then lay down on the couch and take a nap.  Maybe by tonight, she would feel ten times better.

~ * ~

Severus had been nervous all day long.  Although he was an expert at masking his emotions, this  one he had not been able to hide very well.  He felt weak at the knees.  His leg had healed considerably over the past week and he was feeling pretty good about it.  He was able to walk now without much of a limp, which was excellent.  He hadn't even thought about it when he'd asked Lucy to join him at the ball and now he didn't have to worry.

He checked his dress robes in the mirror for about the hundredth time, adjusting the bow tie again and again.  It was going to be crooked if he didn't leave it alone.  He adjusted it one more time for good measure and then put his hands down at his sides to prevent himself from touching it again.  Severus took a deep breath.  If he didn't stop obsessing over every little detail he was going to drive himself crazy.  He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.  Things would have been a lot simpler had he just shut off his emotions and pushed her away. After Lucy had heard his story, he should have told her their correspondence had to stop.  He could have made up some lame excuse and brushed her off.  But no.  He had to let his heart have its say and now he had complicated things by falling in love with her, and he was almost certain she didn't feel the same.  Another catastrophic heartbreak waiting to happen.

A soft knock at his office door pulled him from his thoughts.  He gathered himself and hurried to see who it was.  When he pulled the door open, he stared in awe at the goregous creature in front of him. He could barely utter her name he was so flabbergasted.

"Lucy."

She smiled brightly at him.  "Hello, Severus," she said blushing slightly, which made her face glow even more radiantly.  "I didn't want to just barge through your wall."  She chuckled lightly.  "So, I thought I would knock this time."

He stared blankly at her.  He didn't know what to say as he eyes trailed from head to toe.  He couldn't help it.  Her dress was a beautiful ocean blue with diamonds embedded in an intricate design of an 'x' across her chest.  Her hair was partially up; the rest cascaded down to the side in auburn ringlet curls.  When he finally found his way back up to her round, green eyes, he smiled.