When the Stars Fall

Chapter 6

Sophie's mind was dark, she found a dark nook to rest her mind. She had no idea why she was doing this, only that something had happened, she needed to keep safe.

The corner of her mind was soft, fluffy even. She wanted to lay her mind to rest there and sleep. Sleep, that's what she wanted, she wanted to rest. Give her brain a break, but for some reason she couldn't, she felt a strain and realized that she had a mental shield around not only her mind but also her body.

No one could read her emotions or her mind, that's all she knew. She didn't know why she was doing it only that her job was to protect something, no...someone! She felt some sort of warmth through her shield, something so emotional, so needing that she couldn't help herself to wonder what it was. She slowly let her warm tenticles of thought feel on the outside of her sheild and she felt no pain, which meant no danger. She was blasted with something green, a green breeze, happiness. Safeness, Sophie was safe, this green breeze was saying it was safe.

She really didn't want to leave her safe bubble of warmth, but she new out there someone was calling for her. She let her shield down and ever so slowly came out of her hiding spot.

"Sophie?" She heard her name in the distance, she slowly opened her eyes and it was blurry at first, but then she was welcomed by 4 faces. All gathered around her was Elwin, Tiergan, Keefe and Bronte. "Thank you." She looked up to see who was closest to her and it was Keefe. Her head was on his lap and he was cradling it.

"Your awake, your okay. I-I was so worried. Elwin called saying that Bronte called and said that you'd collapsed and wouldn't wake up. He said your pulse was weak. He-he-h-" Sophie stopped him and grabbed Keefe's hand.

"I'm okay now. I don't know what happened, but I'm awake now, see." She pointed to her face which she had just noticed was quite sweaty. Keefe just nodded and held onto her hand with such power and need that Sophie thought it was going to turn purple.

"We thought we were going to lose you for a second.... You were gone, Tiergan said he felt no brain activity and Bronte, well Bronte was ready to throw his chair across the room." Sophie was puzzled at what Elwin was saying she had no idea what he was talking about.

"What do you mean you almost lost me what happened." And that's when Sophie noticed that Bronte had tears in his eyes that he was furiously trying to wipe away.

"What do you remember Sophie?" It was Tiergan who asked this time with a wondering look about him.

"I had to curl up into a small nook in this dark corner, and it was soft. All I knew was that I had to protect something and that it was my top priority. I guess I put a mental shield around my body to protect that one thing...." She looked up at Keefe and knew that he was thinking about the same thing. She was trying to protect her baby.

"Well," Bronte paused "We should not inflict on each other for awhile before we can figure out what you trying to protect, so that you don't shut down on us again." He cleared his throat and pushed a strand of hair out of his eyes.

"Your cells look surprisingly normal, I just ask that you take this." Elwin handed her a bottle of youth and kept on flashing his lights on her.

"Thanks," She whispered and painstakingly sat up to gulp down the 2nd bottle of youth that day "Sorry I scared you." She whispered to Keefe.

He smiled sweetly at her "It's fine, just never do that again. Please." He whispered the please and anxiously looked to Elwin who had finished looking over Sophie and announced that him and Tiergan were leaving.

"Sophie, you should get some rest, you are exhausted. That's an order too." He winked at her and light leaped away.

"I'm going to research if this has ever happened to anyone else before, but before I get an answer I don't want you guys to inflict on each other at all." He was looking at Sophie with his thinking eyes again and leaped away in a flash. It was only Sophie, Keefe and Bronte left in the room. Sophie heard some shuffling and looked over to Councillor Bronte who was slowly pacing across the room.

"I'm sorry," He said quietly.

"For what? I don't think it was your fault." Sophie almost laughed.

"Yes it was. If I hadn't just not pushed so hard and try to inflict so hard I could've- would've prevented that from happening." He stopped to look at her "I-I'm-"

"It's fine. Okay, I'm fine now, you don't have to worry. We just won't inflict until Tiergan finds out how to stop it." Bronte nodded at that and said a quick goodbye before he light leaped away. Once he was gone Keefe immediately hugged Sophie

"I was so worried. When I heard that he inflicted on you I was so mad, Sophie." Keefe looked into her eyes "I was so worried." He whispered, Sophie noticed that his shirt was wet and looked up to his eyes, which look like they'd just been crying. Sophie got on her knee's, leaned in and hugged Keefe, she ran a hand over his back and up to his hair, Which surprisingly he let her play with.

"It's okay Keefe. I'm fine, you shouldn't have been worried. You know I could pull out of myself whenever I need to."

"I'm your friend, I have a right to be worried. Foster, you know sometimes people need a hand, a hand in anything really. This time, yes you may have gotten out of that, but what about next time?" His eyes welled with tears again "We both know there's going to be a next time, there always is, when those idiots are out there." Keefe was talking about the Neverseen "You just-I-I just don't want to be the one who causes you to go into these things..." He looked down to her stomach and Sophie knew that he was thinking that he caused this, because she was almost certain it was her maternal instincts which told her to leave and hide.

"Keefe, you of all people, could not do that to me. You didn't cause this, it was both of our faults. We just need to figure out how this is going to work." She smiled at him and thankfully he smiled back.

"I'm going to bring you to your dorm." Sophie protested at first saying that she was fine, up until she actually stood up and could barely could walk. She put her arm over Keefe's shoulder and hobbled to her dorm room. In the hall Sandor met up with them and said Elwin explained what happened. His face was filled with rage, for the second day in a row. They got to Sophie's room and she was surprised when Keefe brought her all the way to her bed and set her down.

"You need some rest, Sophie. Don't you dare move." Keefe smiled and left with a goodbye and a smirk on his face.