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He nodded his head up and down and took my hand as I walked him down to his room. I casted one glance over my shoulder to Merrick to see if he was watching and of course he was. I smiled and he smiled too before I turned the corner into Calvin’s room. His mother was sound asleep, thinking he was too.

“You sing to me again, Sherry?”

“Mmmm...” I considered when I really wanted to say no.

“Pleeeeease.”

Oh that pleading face!

“Ok. What do you want to hear?”

“I don’t know anything. I never listened to songs before.”

“What? Really? Ok. Hmm, I think a little Carpenters is in order.”

As he settled in under his blanket and I turned out the lamp, I began to sing softly, probably more like whisper singing, still a twig of self-consciousness there but I pulled through it. For Calvin.

Why do birds suddenly appear

Every time, you are near

Just like me, they long to be

Close to you

Why do stars fall down from the sky

Every time you walk by

Just like me, they long to be

Close to you

On the day that you were born

the angels got together

and decide to create a dream come true.

So they sprinkled moon dust in your hair

and golden starlight in your eyes of blue.

Calvin wasn’t a snorer but I could tell he was out by his soft slow breathing. Poor guy. I couldn’t have imagined seeing a Marker when I was his age and being able to sleep at night. Afterwards, I tucked him in, dragging his legs back onto the bed and easing them under the blanket.

I crept out slowly and pulled the door to. I glanced up and saw that Merrick was waiting for me in the hall, leaning against the wall with his hands in his jean pockets. Smiling and looking every bit of gorgeous and protective...and sneaky.

“That’s nice, what you’re doing for the kid. I really miss hearing you sing,” he said coming to hug me gently around my ribs, clasping his hands together behind my back.

“Well, I’m sure you’ve heard me sing over the years to Danny many times so it doesn’t matter if you heard that or not.” I grinned at him with a mock scowl, thinking what a hypocrite I was because I had gotten so mad at Bobby for doing the same thing, but then sobered. “Calvin is so scared, of the Markers, of all of it. It’d be hard not to be at that age. I’m pretty scared too, actually.”

“You don’t have to be. I’m not gonna let anything else happen to you.”

“I hate to admit that I’m scared, it’s just strange knowing how much everything has changed. There are things out there I never even knew existed. That’s why I don’t want to be alone.”

I tried to keep his gaze while I confessed my silly fears but he got the strangest look on his face.

“So, does that mean that I’m invited to stay with you again tonight?” he asked, so shyly, like he didn’t already know the answer.

Then I realized, maybe he didn’t.

“Every night,” I said as I grabbed his arm.

His look of relief was present as I towed him to my- our room. I didn’t wait for him to make the next move, I knew he was being cautious with me so I reached up on my toes for a kiss. He reacted immediately, hugging me closely to him while he closed the door behind us easily with his foot.

Get Down Tonight

Merrick and I were taking things slow, that was ok, great even. I’d only really ever been in one real relationship and it didn’t turn out so well. Funny, that relationship was with this same body. It was strange that I wasn’t confused at all, I guess I should’ve been but not once did I want to say Matt instead of Merrick except for the first time, not even from habit. Merrick was so entirely different that to me, this body was someone completely different altogether.

Over the next two weeks, Merrick stayed with me every night. We kissed some and cuddled lots and talked like crazy but that was the extent of it. I was just so content and slept better than I ever had in his overly warm arms.

Under normal circumstances, I would never had allowed such a thing, sleeping with a man, even with nothing else going on but this wasn’t a man. And these circumstances were far from normal.

I think being attacked by a Marker should give me some slack on my rules of conduct, especially since Merrick and I both felt like he was my protector, though I didn’t want to admit it.

He wasn’t supposed to be mine but I let him take the role anyway, never feeling safer than now, knowing I was completely taken care of. He didn’t follow me but kind of shadowed me everywhere I went, hard to explain, it was sweet. Not like a stalker, it was just a complete need to see me safe with his own eyes. After all, he had watched me everyday for years. Old habits die hard. I could understand that.

Sometimes I didn’t even realize he was there, but he couldn’t let me out of his sight for very long. If I didn’t let him stay with me at night, he’d probably wind up sleeping on the floor outside my door. Worrying himself into a tizzy.

I thought about the future too, a lot. Could things ever go back to the way they were? Could we defeat the Lighters and send them packing, get our moon back and start our lives again? Would I go back to the paper? Would Danny, the Special, having done his task go back to being a barista at the Coffee Place?

What about Merrick? What about us? Could I actually ask him to stay if I knew that would mean his eventual death as a human?

Walking through one night on my way from the kitchen I noticed there was a beaten old black piano in the foyer, right near the chairs. I guessed maybe someone used to play for the guest back when this was a motel. I sat down on the bench and tapped a few chords out. The thing had clearly not been used in forever and sounded terribly out of tune and uncared for. I blew on the keys. Dust flew up into my face making me blink to clear my eyes and then I sneezed.

“Bless you.”

I turned to see Merrick leaning against the wall.

“Thanks.”

I turned back to the piano and played the first Ben Folds Five song that came to my head, ‘Narcolepsy’. I saw from the corner of my eye as Merrick sat down on the bench beside me. He watched my fingers with fascination, his eyes dancing from my fingers to my face.

“You’ve always been good at that,” he finally said.

“Have you ever seen anyone else play?”

“No.”

“Then I’m sorry to ruin it for you, but I’m not really that good.” I laughed. “I’m too out of practice. I haven’t played in years. I couldn’t afford a piano at my place and mom made me quit lessons when I was sixteen to get a job.”

“I know. But you’re still the best thing I’ve ever seen.”

I smiled at him and nodded in acknowledgment.

“You wanna try?” I asked him.

“Nah, I just like watching you.”

“Come on,” I said with a mixture of whiny and seductive.

I felt that bold bone more than ever lately. I’d never been bold, I’d never been blunt, but with Merrick... I don’t know if it was because he wasn’t from here or if it was just because I felt so comfortable with him but whatever it was, I felt like a completely different girl around him.

I want to flirt, I want to tease, I want to giggle and be silly. It was like I almost wanted to shock him.

“Here.” I stood up in front of the bench and motioned for him to come. “You can sit behind me and I’ll show you.”

He didn’t put up much of a fight after that and I had to stifle a giggle. He scooted over behind me and I sat in between his legs on the very edge of the front of the bench.

“Do you have enough room?” he asked, his voice deep.

“Mmhmm,” I answered and felt his hands tentative on my hips as he blew out a long breath into my hair. “Now. Bring your arms over mine and place your fingers on top of mine on the keys.”

He pulled my hair away from my shoulder, over to one side. He placed a small kiss on the back of my neck making me shiver then he put his chin on my shoulder. I turned to look at him and his nose brushed my cheek. He slid his hands up my arms until his hands rested on mine. I turned back to the piano , breathless, and again played ‘Narcolepsy’, but slower.

I pushed the keys and his fingers followed the motion of mine. We sat there like that until the words would come. I hummed them. I knew he’d heard me sing but I just felt weird doing it then.

So there we sat, him pressed against my back, me feeling every contour of him, his arms around me, me sitting between his legs and breathing with him, our chests rising and falling together. Then the song ended.

He didn’t move, neither did I.

“So,” I said after a few seconds that felt like loaded minutes. “How was that? Did you like it?”

His hands left mine to caress up and down my arms. I turned to look at him over my shoulder. He didn’t say anything and his heart beat franticly against my back. One of his hands came up to my cheek. His eyes were full of passion and love, so loud he may as well have been screaming it. He searched my face for something, resistance maybe, but he clearly didn’t find any as his green eyes flashed with something I couldn’t decipher, then he licked his lips and leaned in, closing the scant inch between us.

He took my mouth with his gently but I heard a small grunt escape him and he immediately began pressing harder, insisting on it. His thumb swept across my cheekbone sweetly as his other hand found it’s way back to my hip and squeezed affectionately.

I understood the significance of this. This was his first time to take the lead. Every other time we’ve kissed or done anything really, even ate dinner, it had been at my insistence or prompt. This was all him and he was showing me with his lips and hands that he wanted me and could take the reins to show me and I let him. It was amazing to be lead by someone because they loved you and wanted to show you instead of wanting to dominate you.

My hand wound up bunched in his shirt sleeve, feeling his skin taut and warm and as we kissed, though it was a slightly awkward position, there was nothing else. My lips tingled deliciously and my heart pounded heavily...and then Danny ruined it.

“Sherry, I know you won’t complain but I wanted to ask- Whoa! Whoa! Ok!” he yelled causing us to jerk apart in surprise and when I looked up at him he had his eyes covered with his hand in the doorway. “Ok. Uh... Hmm. Ok. Well, I guess it can wait til later,” he said loudly and practically ran from the room.

We looked back at each other and the only thing we could do was laugh.

A couple nights later we laid in bed. We had gotten so much more comfortable with each other, with touching, just being together, in each others space. He would kiss me sometimes instead of waiting for me to, but most were tame, sweet and almost chaste, careful.

He was especially affectionate tonight, placing little peck kisses on my neck and shoulders. I turned to face him and he kissed me before I could say anything. A good thorough full body, hands-lips-legs-arms kiss that made your toes curl. We hadn’t had one of these since the first kiss, the first night we slept in the same bed together.

He handles himself better now than then. Controls himself better. Don’t get me wrong, he got worked up, but nothing we couldn’t handle. I could almost always feel his heart beating fast against my chest.

Gah, I loved it when he framed my face with his hands, when he moved his fingers through my hair. It was the most protected and cared about I’d ever felt. He responded too and seemed to like it when I nibbled his lip an awful lot, more than liked it actually, which was incredibly cute to see a big strong man get so taken in by such a little thing as a nibble. And he murmurs candy sweet things against my lips.

“I adore you. Do you know have any idea what you’re doing to me?” he whispered one night. Then another night he said, “This can’t be real. You can’t be real.” And tonight, as he leaned over me on his elbows and wrapped my hair around his fingers he said, “You are so beautiful, you know that?”

“It’s dark in here,” I said playing with him, knowing he can see me in the dark.

“Doesn’t matter. You look beautiful even in the dark where no one can see you but me.”

After we settled down a little bit I resumed my favorite position, sprawled out on his chest and waited for sleep. I felt his hand slide from my back to the bed when he finally fell out.

It’s not often these days I lay awake after Merrick falls asleep, too much contemplating tonight I guessed. Too much gorgeous guy beside me, too much recovering, too much worrying over everything.

Tap, tap, tap.

I eased out of Merrick’s grasp and peeked slightly out the drapes and window and gasped. Standing in the driveway was Bobby.

Alone.

Staring directly at my face through the dirty window pane.

I realized the noise I heard was him throwing small gravel stones to get my attention and suddenly he was there, at the window in a flash, almost too fast to be humanly possible, almost touching the glass with his face, startling me. He looked like him but not.

I stumbled back immediately and scrambled up to the bed to wake up Merrick. Shaking him, he grabbed my arms gently, instantly aware, setting me aside.

For some reason, I didn’t even have to explain, he jumped up and ran out the room door. I saw Jeff as well, flashing down the hall. I ran after them and a few others were awake, peeking out their rooms.

When I reached the motel hall outside door, Bobby was standing there, our Keepers in between me and him. Merrick yelled for Danny to stay back out of sight. Jeff reiterated that all Specials stay out of sight, in the hall.

Out of nowhere Bobby grabbed Ryan by his shoulders, throwing him into the side of the van with inhuman force. Ryan slammed into the side of the van, leaving a dent, and then crashed down hard to the pebbles and dirt gravel.

Merrick and Jeff reacted automatically. Jeff struggled with Bobby while Merrick ran to Ryan. I couldn’t sit by and do nothing so I ran around the brawl to help Merrick.

“Sherry, go back inside. I’ll handle this,” he says calmly, contradicting the situation.