FIC: Turn To Me part 25/27; Guiding Light
TITLE: Turn To Me
AUTHOR: Wonko
FANDOM: Guiding Light
RATING: PG-13 for this part.
SUMMARY: Natalia is forced to come to terms with her feelings alone when Olivia is injured.
TIMELINE: Begins immediately after the episode on 17th of April and diverges from the canon storyline at that point.
[ Part 1] [ Part 2] [ Part 3] [ Part 4] [ Part 5] [ Part 6] [ Part 7] [ Part 8] [ Part 9] [ Part 10] [ Part 11] [ Part 12] [ Part 13] [ Part 14] [ Part 15] [ Part 16] [ Part 17] [ Part 18] [ Part 19] [ Part 20] [ Part 21] [ Part 22] [ Part 23] [ Part 24]
"So, the big day's finally arrived huh?" Rick smiled broadly at Olivia who scowled in response. "Hey," he said, wounded. "What have I done to deserve that?"
"Just hurry up and take it off," Olivia grumbled, leaning heavily back against the pillows.
Natalia smiled nervously. "Sorry, Rick," she said. "She's just a little anxious."
Olivia turned her head towards Natalia, her scowl deepening. "Don't apologise for me."
Natalia rolled her eyes as she pushed Olivia's hair away from her face. "Someone has to," she replied, laughter edging into the corners of her voice.
Olivia grunted and crossed her arms over her chest. "Hurry up!" she snapped at Rick.
Natalia pulled a chair up to Olivia's bedside and took her hand. "You're like a child," she scolded.
Olivia grinned wickedly. "I guess that makes you a pervert then," she said, and laughed when Natalia flushed.
"You are too much," Natalia mumbled.
"You love it."
Natalia shook her head. "I love you," she whispered.
Rick coughed suddenly. "Uh...still in the room ladies," he said.
Two pairs of eyes snapped round to meet his. "Oh, would you hurry up?" two voices said in harmony.
He held up his hands. Attacked on two fronts. Hardly fair.
* * * * * *
Natalia tried to resist the urge to look at the clock as Rick worked. Who would have thought removing a cast would take so long? She was starting to think Rick was dragging it out deliberately.
As soon as the thought crossed her mind she felt guilty about it. It wasn't Rick's fault they were...frustrated. He couldn't possibly know about the long nights spent whispering and kissing and...she shuddered lightly...touching. Every night things had gone a little further before Olivia's leg had made itself known, like an elephant in the room, and killed the mood. It was ridiculous really. Over a year of dancing around these feelings, moving forward and retreating, one step forward and two steps back and now they were finally, finally,on the same page - and they couldn't do anything about it! It was like some kind of giant cosmic joke.
"How long exactly is this going to take?"
Olivia glared at Rick who managed not to seem phased at all. "Just a little longer," he said breezily. He smiled. "So, how's the memory situation, swiss-cheese for brains?"
Natalia frowned at him. "Don't call her that," she admonished. "She's been doing really, really well."
Olivia nodded. "Yeah...bits and pieces are coming back here and there."
Rick nodded distractedly. "That's good, good," he murmured. "You'll probably find that'll slow down a little now though."
Olivia frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Oh, you know, just that the chances of achieving full recall diminish the further you get from the original trauma. What you have now after a couple of months is probably going to be all you get. Give or take a flash or two here and there. Don't expect too much though."
For a long moment Olivia couldn't speak. She looked up at Natalia, her eyes shining. "I'm never going to remember..." she murmured. "I've...I've lost everything?"
Natalia shook her head and gripped her hand even tighter. "I can remember for both of us," she said steadily.
Olivia looked away. "I'm thirsty," she said at last. "Could you maybe get me a water or something?"
Natalia nodded, trying not to be hurt that Olivia's instinct was still to draw away when wounded. It was only to be expected. It had been just Olivia against the world for so long it was hardly a surprise that she found it hard to lean on anyone else. But Natalia could work on that. There wasn't much she couldn't achieve - when she was determined. And she was very, very determined.
"Now that's the look of a woman on a mission," a mocking voice said. Natalia looked up from the vending machine where she'd been trying to choose between flat water, fizzy water, fizzy water with lemon, or another of the myriad of complicated and unnecessary choices.
"Oh, it's you," she said.
Doris smiled broadly. "Don't sound so pleased to see me Natalia, I might get the wrong idea," she said, her lips twitching as she leaned against the wall.
"Why are you here?"
"Well, maybe I just like to check on the voters, I'm that kind of mayor."
Natalia rolled her eyes but didn't challenge the statement. "Well, it's been a joy seeing you Doris, as always, but I really have to get back to Olivia." She jabbed a random button on the machine and grabbed the bottle of flat water with hints of peach that popped out.
Doris raised an eyebrow. "Ohhhh," she drawled. "Of course. Well, I wouldn't want to keep you from your friend."
Natalia stopped in her tracks and slowly turned around. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, nothing at all Natalia, nothing at all."
Natalia frowned. "Has she...has she told you anything about us?" she asked hesitantly. Doris laughed.
"Dear God Natalia, is there anyone in town she hasn't told?"
Natalia frowned. "Wh-what do you mean?"
"You're serious," Doris said, her smile fading. "Natalia, everyone knew except you. And Frank, I suppose, but that's no shocker really - you could fill libraries with the things that man doesn't know."
Natalia ignored the affront to her ex-fiance's honour. "So...Olivia's been talking to people about...her feelings for me."
Doris nodded. "Everyone who'd listen. Oh, woe is me, I'm falling madly in love with my bestest fwiend! Does that make me a l-l-l-lesbian? Oh no!" She let out a bark of laughter. "It was kind of cute. In an annoying way."
Natalia stood staring at the mayor for long moments. There was only one part of her speech she'd really focused on. "Does it?" she asked softly.
Doris frowned. "Does what?"
Natalia coughed. "Does falling madly in love with your best friend make you a lesbian?"
For a moment Doris didn't reply, and then a slow devious grin spread across her face as she advanced on Natalia. "That depends," she said. "Do you want to hold her hand and have little pecks on the cheek before you toddle off to your separate rooms? Do you just want to fold laundry and take Emma on field trips for the rest of your life?" She was within a few inches of Natalia now, and her voice had lowered an octave. "Or do you want to hold her down on a bed and fuck her into next week?"
Natalia's breath caught and her face flushed dark with desire at the image Doris's words had painted in her mind. "Uh..."
Doris smirked. "I guess that answers that question."
Natalia looked away, embarrassment following hot on the heels of lust. "I don't," she began, then coughed to clear the huskiness from her voice. "I don't really know how..." she admitted.
Doris thought about teasing her some more, but decided at last to take pity. "You'll find it comes naturally," she said gently. "In fact, I'm willing to bet you'll wonder how you ever enjoyed anything else." Her lips twitched. "I reckon our Ms Spencer is a demon in the sack."
Natalia rolled her eyes. "Been thinking about that a lot have you?"
Doris raised an eyebrow. "Maybe a little. I'm not made of stone."
Natalia felt strangely jealous for a moment, which was ridiculous. If she was going to feel jealous over every person who'd ever lusted after Olivia Spencer...well, her eyes would be greener than Olivia's before she was through. "I have to get back now," she said.
Doris watched her go, but couldn't resist one last quip. "Natalia?" She waited until she turned her head. "I'm sure as a religious woman you're familiar with the expression 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you'. Just so you know? That was made for this situation."
Natalia blushed as she hurried back to Olivia's side, followed by the sound of Doris Wolfe's laughter which sounded equal parts mocking and affectionate. Do unto others, she thought speculatively. That does give me a few ideas...
* * * * * *
"My leg looks weird," Olivia said for the tenth time as Natalia pulled up at the farmhouse in her - their - new car. Natalia rolled her eyes.
"Your leg looks wonderful, and beautiful and sexy," she said.
"It's all skinny and wasted!" Olivia insisted.
Natalia took her hand and squeezed. "Doctor Rick explained this to you," she said. "Your muscles have atrophied slightly. You need a few months of physical therapy before you'll be back to normal."
Olivia huffed. "Stupid car accident," she grumbled. "Who would have thought two broken bones and some brain damage would be so much trouble?"
Natalia leaned over and silenced her with a kiss. "Who indeed?" she murmured against her lips. "But we're still here. We're together. What does that say?"
Olivia closed her eyes and sighed deeply. "That this is real," she said happily.
Natalia nodded. "It sure is. Now come on."
Natalia moulded herself to Olivia's side as she helped her out of the car. Doctor Rick had warned them that Olivia should avoid putting too much weight on the leg right away - he had even mimed what might happen if she took things too quickly. Natalia felt they could probably have done without the pantomime of Rick crumpling to the floor clutching his leg and moaning, but it had seemed to make him happy.
The living room looked strange when they entered, but it took Natalia a moment to realise what had changed. "Oh," she said at last. "Rafe must have moved your bed upstairs." Indeed, the room was back to normal again; the couch and coffee table in their regular places. A bottle of champagne stood on the table with a note propped up against it.
Olivia grabbed it as she settled onto the couch. "Dear mom," she read. "Have taken Emma for a little field trip to The Beacon for the night. Don't worry about the expense - the owner owes me a favour." She looked up at Natalia with a smile. "He's almost as devious as you," she said. Natalia took the note from her.
"I figured the two of you might like some privacy," she continued. "And there are some things I really don't need to hear. Just so you know, the walls in this house are pretty thin." Natalia flushed. "What do you suppose he means by that?" she murmured.
Olivia's mind flashed back to the previous night, her hands meandering under Natalia's shirt, her lips fastened to her neck, and Natalia moaning like she was in pain, her fingers threaded through Olivia's hair. "No idea," she said.
Natalia shook her head. "Have fun, and don't worry about us - we'll order room service and watch movies and go to bed at a reasonable hour. I've brought some clothes for Em to change into so she can go straight to school from here. We'll see you both tomorrow around four. Love, Rafe."
Olivia watched Natalia through half-lidded eyes as she dropped the note onto the table. "Alone at last," she said softly. Natalia's mouth twitched up in a grin.
"I've been waiting to do this for a long time," she muttered as she straddled Olivia's lap and draped her arms round her neck. Olivia's arms wrapped around her waist as she leaned back.
"Is that so?" she asked. Natalia leaned forward, bumping their foreheads together.
"Oh yeah," she sighed, and captured Olivia's lips in a heated, bruising kiss.
"Mmmph," Olivia moaned, pulling Natalia closer to her as her lips parted and she felt the other woman's tongue dip briefly and tangle with hers.
"You feel so good," Natalia murmured, dropping her head to hide in the crook of Olivia's shoulder, kissing her collarbone.
Olivia gasped. "You don't feel so bad yourself," she managed to say, her head spinning just a little.
Natalia kissed a trail across her neck, finally lifting up to claim her lips again. "I need to get you upstairs," she murmured between kisses.
"Mmm," Olivia agreed. "Good idea...very, very good idea..."
Natalia tore herself away and stood. She was in danger of losing control and just taking Olivia right there on the couch. Which wouldn't necessarily be bad...but she wanted their first time to be perfect. Just the two of them together in a bed, no interruptions, no hesitancy, no regrets. She smiled down at Olivia and held out her hand.
"Come on."
TBC...
AUTHOR: Wonko
FANDOM: Guiding Light
RATING: PG-13 for this part.
SUMMARY: Natalia is forced to come to terms with her feelings alone when Olivia is injured.
TIMELINE: Begins immediately after the episode on 17th of April and diverges from the canon storyline at that point.
[ Part 1] [ Part 2] [ Part 3] [ Part 4] [ Part 5] [ Part 6] [ Part 7] [ Part 8] [ Part 9] [ Part 10] [ Part 11] [ Part 12] [ Part 13] [ Part 14] [ Part 15] [ Part 16] [ Part 17] [ Part 18] [ Part 19] [ Part 20] [ Part 21] [ Part 22] [ Part 23] [ Part 24]
"So, the big day's finally arrived huh?" Rick smiled broadly at Olivia who scowled in response. "Hey," he said, wounded. "What have I done to deserve that?"
"Just hurry up and take it off," Olivia grumbled, leaning heavily back against the pillows.
Natalia smiled nervously. "Sorry, Rick," she said. "She's just a little anxious."
Olivia turned her head towards Natalia, her scowl deepening. "Don't apologise for me."
Natalia rolled her eyes as she pushed Olivia's hair away from her face. "Someone has to," she replied, laughter edging into the corners of her voice.
Olivia grunted and crossed her arms over her chest. "Hurry up!" she snapped at Rick.
Natalia pulled a chair up to Olivia's bedside and took her hand. "You're like a child," she scolded.
Olivia grinned wickedly. "I guess that makes you a pervert then," she said, and laughed when Natalia flushed.
"You are too much," Natalia mumbled.
"You love it."
Natalia shook her head. "I love you," she whispered.
Rick coughed suddenly. "Uh...still in the room ladies," he said.
Two pairs of eyes snapped round to meet his. "Oh, would you hurry up?" two voices said in harmony.
He held up his hands. Attacked on two fronts. Hardly fair.
* * * * * *
Natalia tried to resist the urge to look at the clock as Rick worked. Who would have thought removing a cast would take so long? She was starting to think Rick was dragging it out deliberately.
As soon as the thought crossed her mind she felt guilty about it. It wasn't Rick's fault they were...frustrated. He couldn't possibly know about the long nights spent whispering and kissing and...she shuddered lightly...touching. Every night things had gone a little further before Olivia's leg had made itself known, like an elephant in the room, and killed the mood. It was ridiculous really. Over a year of dancing around these feelings, moving forward and retreating, one step forward and two steps back and now they were finally, finally,on the same page - and they couldn't do anything about it! It was like some kind of giant cosmic joke.
"How long exactly is this going to take?"
Olivia glared at Rick who managed not to seem phased at all. "Just a little longer," he said breezily. He smiled. "So, how's the memory situation, swiss-cheese for brains?"
Natalia frowned at him. "Don't call her that," she admonished. "She's been doing really, really well."
Olivia nodded. "Yeah...bits and pieces are coming back here and there."
Rick nodded distractedly. "That's good, good," he murmured. "You'll probably find that'll slow down a little now though."
Olivia frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Oh, you know, just that the chances of achieving full recall diminish the further you get from the original trauma. What you have now after a couple of months is probably going to be all you get. Give or take a flash or two here and there. Don't expect too much though."
For a long moment Olivia couldn't speak. She looked up at Natalia, her eyes shining. "I'm never going to remember..." she murmured. "I've...I've lost everything?"
Natalia shook her head and gripped her hand even tighter. "I can remember for both of us," she said steadily.
Olivia looked away. "I'm thirsty," she said at last. "Could you maybe get me a water or something?"
Natalia nodded, trying not to be hurt that Olivia's instinct was still to draw away when wounded. It was only to be expected. It had been just Olivia against the world for so long it was hardly a surprise that she found it hard to lean on anyone else. But Natalia could work on that. There wasn't much she couldn't achieve - when she was determined. And she was very, very determined.
"Now that's the look of a woman on a mission," a mocking voice said. Natalia looked up from the vending machine where she'd been trying to choose between flat water, fizzy water, fizzy water with lemon, or another of the myriad of complicated and unnecessary choices.
"Oh, it's you," she said.
Doris smiled broadly. "Don't sound so pleased to see me Natalia, I might get the wrong idea," she said, her lips twitching as she leaned against the wall.
"Why are you here?"
"Well, maybe I just like to check on the voters, I'm that kind of mayor."
Natalia rolled her eyes but didn't challenge the statement. "Well, it's been a joy seeing you Doris, as always, but I really have to get back to Olivia." She jabbed a random button on the machine and grabbed the bottle of flat water with hints of peach that popped out.
Doris raised an eyebrow. "Ohhhh," she drawled. "Of course. Well, I wouldn't want to keep you from your friend."
Natalia stopped in her tracks and slowly turned around. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, nothing at all Natalia, nothing at all."
Natalia frowned. "Has she...has she told you anything about us?" she asked hesitantly. Doris laughed.
"Dear God Natalia, is there anyone in town she hasn't told?"
Natalia frowned. "Wh-what do you mean?"
"You're serious," Doris said, her smile fading. "Natalia, everyone knew except you. And Frank, I suppose, but that's no shocker really - you could fill libraries with the things that man doesn't know."
Natalia ignored the affront to her ex-fiance's honour. "So...Olivia's been talking to people about...her feelings for me."
Doris nodded. "Everyone who'd listen. Oh, woe is me, I'm falling madly in love with my bestest fwiend! Does that make me a l-l-l-lesbian? Oh no!" She let out a bark of laughter. "It was kind of cute. In an annoying way."
Natalia stood staring at the mayor for long moments. There was only one part of her speech she'd really focused on. "Does it?" she asked softly.
Doris frowned. "Does what?"
Natalia coughed. "Does falling madly in love with your best friend make you a lesbian?"
For a moment Doris didn't reply, and then a slow devious grin spread across her face as she advanced on Natalia. "That depends," she said. "Do you want to hold her hand and have little pecks on the cheek before you toddle off to your separate rooms? Do you just want to fold laundry and take Emma on field trips for the rest of your life?" She was within a few inches of Natalia now, and her voice had lowered an octave. "Or do you want to hold her down on a bed and fuck her into next week?"
Natalia's breath caught and her face flushed dark with desire at the image Doris's words had painted in her mind. "Uh..."
Doris smirked. "I guess that answers that question."
Natalia looked away, embarrassment following hot on the heels of lust. "I don't," she began, then coughed to clear the huskiness from her voice. "I don't really know how..." she admitted.
Doris thought about teasing her some more, but decided at last to take pity. "You'll find it comes naturally," she said gently. "In fact, I'm willing to bet you'll wonder how you ever enjoyed anything else." Her lips twitched. "I reckon our Ms Spencer is a demon in the sack."
Natalia rolled her eyes. "Been thinking about that a lot have you?"
Doris raised an eyebrow. "Maybe a little. I'm not made of stone."
Natalia felt strangely jealous for a moment, which was ridiculous. If she was going to feel jealous over every person who'd ever lusted after Olivia Spencer...well, her eyes would be greener than Olivia's before she was through. "I have to get back now," she said.
Doris watched her go, but couldn't resist one last quip. "Natalia?" She waited until she turned her head. "I'm sure as a religious woman you're familiar with the expression 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you'. Just so you know? That was made for this situation."
Natalia blushed as she hurried back to Olivia's side, followed by the sound of Doris Wolfe's laughter which sounded equal parts mocking and affectionate. Do unto others, she thought speculatively. That does give me a few ideas...
* * * * * *
"My leg looks weird," Olivia said for the tenth time as Natalia pulled up at the farmhouse in her - their - new car. Natalia rolled her eyes.
"Your leg looks wonderful, and beautiful and sexy," she said.
"It's all skinny and wasted!" Olivia insisted.
Natalia took her hand and squeezed. "Doctor Rick explained this to you," she said. "Your muscles have atrophied slightly. You need a few months of physical therapy before you'll be back to normal."
Olivia huffed. "Stupid car accident," she grumbled. "Who would have thought two broken bones and some brain damage would be so much trouble?"
Natalia leaned over and silenced her with a kiss. "Who indeed?" she murmured against her lips. "But we're still here. We're together. What does that say?"
Olivia closed her eyes and sighed deeply. "That this is real," she said happily.
Natalia nodded. "It sure is. Now come on."
Natalia moulded herself to Olivia's side as she helped her out of the car. Doctor Rick had warned them that Olivia should avoid putting too much weight on the leg right away - he had even mimed what might happen if she took things too quickly. Natalia felt they could probably have done without the pantomime of Rick crumpling to the floor clutching his leg and moaning, but it had seemed to make him happy.
The living room looked strange when they entered, but it took Natalia a moment to realise what had changed. "Oh," she said at last. "Rafe must have moved your bed upstairs." Indeed, the room was back to normal again; the couch and coffee table in their regular places. A bottle of champagne stood on the table with a note propped up against it.
Olivia grabbed it as she settled onto the couch. "Dear mom," she read. "Have taken Emma for a little field trip to The Beacon for the night. Don't worry about the expense - the owner owes me a favour." She looked up at Natalia with a smile. "He's almost as devious as you," she said. Natalia took the note from her.
"I figured the two of you might like some privacy," she continued. "And there are some things I really don't need to hear. Just so you know, the walls in this house are pretty thin." Natalia flushed. "What do you suppose he means by that?" she murmured.
Olivia's mind flashed back to the previous night, her hands meandering under Natalia's shirt, her lips fastened to her neck, and Natalia moaning like she was in pain, her fingers threaded through Olivia's hair. "No idea," she said.
Natalia shook her head. "Have fun, and don't worry about us - we'll order room service and watch movies and go to bed at a reasonable hour. I've brought some clothes for Em to change into so she can go straight to school from here. We'll see you both tomorrow around four. Love, Rafe."
Olivia watched Natalia through half-lidded eyes as she dropped the note onto the table. "Alone at last," she said softly. Natalia's mouth twitched up in a grin.
"I've been waiting to do this for a long time," she muttered as she straddled Olivia's lap and draped her arms round her neck. Olivia's arms wrapped around her waist as she leaned back.
"Is that so?" she asked. Natalia leaned forward, bumping their foreheads together.
"Oh yeah," she sighed, and captured Olivia's lips in a heated, bruising kiss.
"Mmmph," Olivia moaned, pulling Natalia closer to her as her lips parted and she felt the other woman's tongue dip briefly and tangle with hers.
"You feel so good," Natalia murmured, dropping her head to hide in the crook of Olivia's shoulder, kissing her collarbone.
Olivia gasped. "You don't feel so bad yourself," she managed to say, her head spinning just a little.
Natalia kissed a trail across her neck, finally lifting up to claim her lips again. "I need to get you upstairs," she murmured between kisses.
"Mmm," Olivia agreed. "Good idea...very, very good idea..."
Natalia tore herself away and stood. She was in danger of losing control and just taking Olivia right there on the couch. Which wouldn't necessarily be bad...but she wanted their first time to be perfect. Just the two of them together in a bed, no interruptions, no hesitancy, no regrets. She smiled down at Olivia and held out her hand.
"Come on."
TBC...