Just as Grady had promised, there was an ogre escort waiting for them in Ravagog the next morning.
Keefe would never understand why they insisted on wearing those stupid metal diapers. Ogres were fierce, but seriously...that was not a good look.
"Okay," the ogre said with no preamble, not even a simple introduction. "This way."
Foster squeezed Keefe's hand as they started walking. He could feel her emotions shifting to discomfort, along with flickers of anger, fear and sadness, and he knew what she was remembering.
"Calm down, Foster," he said quietly. "This isn't like last time. No arrogant plan changes this time, I promise. Unless of course, you're dying to see my abs again," he said playfully, lightening the mood.
"Good, because I don't see how getting into another bloody fight would help the ogre princess," she told him.
But he saw the blush on her cheeks and the uplift in her emotions, and knew he'd successfully pulled her out of her unpleasant memories.
As their escort brought them up to a closed door, he stopped them. "I will leave you here. Our people will be coming in and out to check on her and administer medicine, but you have been given permission to stay all day as long as you don't get in their way."
With that, he left them. They entered the room and immediately found Ro lying in bed. She was covered in multiple bandages and the rest of her was bruised and swollen. But still, she looked like Ro. Pigtails, bright pink (rather sharp) fingernails and all. They sat down in the empty chairs by her bedside. A female ogre was there, changing the dressing on one of her nastier looking wounds.
"How is she?" Keefe asked.
"Much better than I would have expected, to be honest. Her breaks have been set and her wounds have stopped bleeding. If she continues on this path, I think her wounds will fully heal. The question now is whether or not she will wake."
"Who knows," Foster said quietly as the ogre left the room. "Maybe hearing our voices will help wake her."
"Yeah, maybe. Even an unconscious Ro would want to know I'm here. You know, so she could try to use what strength she has to smack me." He almost wished she would. At least then she would be awake.
Foster laughed, then turned serious. "Ro? Thank you for our last conversation. You don't know what you did for me, giving me Hope...and giving me hope. I didn't understand what I was feeling until after we talked. Please wake up so I can tell you again."
Keefe definitely owed Ro a debt of gratitude for that one.
He leaned over and looked at Ro. "Hey!" he said as loudly as was comfortable in such a serious setting. "I need you to wake up! I took your advice and it totally worked! My amazing kissing skills totally won Foster's heart! She's madly in love with me now." He smirked at Foster.
She rolled her eyes. "Don't listen to him. After we found Keefe, I was dropping hints over and over, trying to see if he still liked me. I had actually decided he had to have gotten over me and was trying to figure out how to not be heartbroken about it until I worked up the courage to tell him. Only then did he kiss me."
Keefe looked at her with raised eyebrows. "So you agree I have great kissing skills?"
"I'm just saying if Ro's advice was to just grab me and kiss me, then I'm not sure you really took it. At least not without a lot of encouragement. But also...yes." Foster winked at him. Then she turned to look at Ro. "She doesn't seem like she's waking up yet."
"Nope. But we are here all day, by her side, whether she does or not." Keefe reached over to take her hand and they sat in silence for a while, watching Ro's steady breathing and quietly begging those eyes to open.
After a few minutes of silence, Foster's mood turned curious. "You said you almost took her advice a couple of times. Now I want to know--when was that?"
So he told her about the many times he'd almost confessed his feelings to her--both before and after Ro entered the scene.
When he reminded her of the day Fitz had found out she was unmatchable, and she immediately recalled how Keefe had almost had to witness a Fitzphie kiss, she jumped up and started pacing the floor, disgusted with herself.
Well, he couldn't have that.
So he did what he did best.
He got up and moved over to her, telling her not to be upset, not to feel guilty. He comforted her.
And pointed out how much sweeter it made everything now that she'd finally chosen him.
"Besides," he breathed, "it makes all of this now so much better. Now, I can remember how awful it was, but I can remind myself that things have changed." He reached out, placing his hands on the small of her back and pulling her right up against him before whispering "now I can do this."
Then he kissed her.
And it felt so different, somehow. Even sweeter than normal, after discussing all of their near misses, with all of his former heartache fresh on his mind.
He knew she felt it, too--this right here might be the world's most perfect kiss.
When they finally broke apart, Foster let out a breathless laugh. "Do you ever wonder what it's going to be like when you are back at school? Or next time the whole group gets together? I think everyone knows we are dating by now, but I honestly don't know if they'll be able to stand being around us if we're being this sappy all the time."
Keefe pouted. "I'm just making up for lost time. Think of all the kisses and heart-to-hearts you owe me to make amends for the way you strung my poor heart along for so long," he pointed out, feeling mischievous now. "I just want my fair share, is that really too much to ask?"
She smacked him on the arm.
"Hey now!" Keefe protested, though he couldn't contain his laughter for a moment. "Don't pretend you don't love being sappy with me. You can't lie to an empath, remember?"
"True," she whispered with a hint of a grin on her face as she leaned back in. "I guess I don't mind owing you that much," she added right before her lips found his again.
"Wait, what?" a groggy and pained voice said behind them.
Ro was awake.
They broke apart and rushed to Ro's side so fast it was almost comical. She was lying there, panting slightly, head turned towards them. She looked slightly out of it, but her eyes were wide open.
"Ro!" Keefe exclaimed. He was tempted to hug her, though Ro really wasn't much of a hugger. But he was way too afraid of hurting her anyway.
And that was probably a good thing. She really did look pretty rough.
"Hey, Hunkyhair," Ro panted weakly. "Long time, no see."
Even in her frail state, there was something vaguely threatening to her tone, which Keefe took as a good sign. Ro looked over at Foster. "So you finally figured it out, huh Blondie?"
Foster grinned. "Didn't take me long once you pointed me in the right direction."
Keefe jumped in. "Ro, I'm really sorry I used my ability against you like that. I didn't know what else to do. I was so scared and so stupid."
"Stupid is...right," Ro muttered.
She sounded pretty rough. Keefe could feel Foster's concern and knew she must be thinking the same thing.
Ro must've seen the fear in Sophie's eyes. She let out a little cough that was apparently supposed to be a laugh. "Don't worry about me, Blondie. Ogres heal fast." She paused and took a few breaths. "A lot faster than you wimpy elves." She looked over at Keefe. "Just you wait, Funkyhair."
"That'll sound a lot more threatening when you can say it all in one breath," Keefe countered. Foster smacked him, but Ro let out another cough-laugh and then winced in pain.
Foster stepped out into the hall to find someone to come check on Ro. The same female ogre as before came by and examined her carefully, asking a few questions. Apparently she did manage to kill Cadfael before the others overpowered her. She was satisfied when she heard that her people had continued the search after finding Ro.
"Good. I hope they get them all." Ro closed her eyes for a moment. "I think...I need to sleep." And within seconds, she was out.
Keefe looked at the female ogre, needing confirmation. "She'll wake up again, right?"
"Probably. I don't think she's unconscious now, I think she's just resting. Just like you, our bodies heal best when we sleep. I'll let her sleep, but come get me when she wakes. I'd like to try to sit her up and have her eat and drink. She'll feel stronger when she gets some food inside her."