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Randi's Cure (SheWolf of London; Ian/Randi; R)
Author: Pirate Turner
Especially Dedicated To: My hero, my cure, my better half, my beloved Jack
For: My beloved Jack and our babies as a bit of a Halloween/Samhain/Anniversary present in this chaotic time of our lives
Rating: R
Summary: Randi's cure has been right before her all this time.
Warnings: Het, Established Pairing
Word Count (excluding heading): 1,633
Date Written: 28 October, 2010
Disclaimer: Randi, Ian, and She-Wolf of London are © & TM their respective owners, none of which are the author, and are used without permission. Everything else is © & TM the author. The author makes absolutely no profit off of this work of fan fiction, and no copyright infringement is intended.
She loved it when he rode with her. Whether it was flying down the highway on her motorcycle, feeling the wind whip through her long hair and his arms clenching her waist in a frightened, death grip or awakening to the feeling of his arms lovingly wrapped around her when she came back to herself from her cycle, she loved just having him with her. Even now, as he rode the waves of dreamland, she reveled in his body coiled into hers. His presence in her life alone was enough to make her grateful for the breaths she took, no matter how crazy or dangerous their world was at the moment, and she thanked her lucky stars every day and night for his love.
There were still those people who couldn't understand why they were together, and she'd been asked more than once by a condescending bitch what she saw in him. She knew the world would never understand for they would never see the strength, valor, sweet gentility, and sheer wonderfulness of the man she knew her beloved Ian to be, and she didn't care. She didn't want the world; in fact, he was all the world had to offer that she wanted. Well, that and the cure for her lycanthropy so that they could be together without risking her losing control over the beast constantly growling within her and hurting him.
She turned in his arms now to face his sleeping form. He was growing stronger every day, and she was beginning to feel some real muscles in those arms who held her so readily every time she needed him without ever having to be asked. No one had ever stood beside her like Ian did, and indeed she'd given up hope of ever knowing what true love was until he'd charmed his way into her heart. Oh, she was no stranger to romance, but love was a thing most uncommon that she knew she would have never known if not for her beloved Ian.
And boy, did the Brits ever know how to love! Women raved about Frenchmen and Italians being the best lovers, but Randi knew that none could be better than the Brits -- or, at least, her Ian. He'd been a bit stiff at first, but after she'd loosened him up and helped him to discover his own secret wild side, he had never once ceased to take her breath away or leave her feeling well loved. Even now her body was still warm from their lovemaking a couple of hours before.
Their day had been crazy, she thought, smiling down into his handsome, sleeping face, and their night even crazier. They'd almost succeeded in retrieving a potion this Halloween night that would have cured her, but somewhere along the line of the multitude of Weres and others who had been after the potion, it had gotten lost. Flashes of her own tears and curses ran through her mind now as she cuddled with her love. She'd been devastated, but Ian had not.
He had been the one to hold her while she had cried, as he always was and as he would always be the only one whom she would allow to do so. She was supposed to be strong, but he knew the truth. He knew she was only strong to a point, and when the walls came tumbling down and her true weakness revealed itself, he never called her on her lack of strength and always only held her and consoled her with all the right words until he had successfully helped her to patch her wall once more.
He had shocked her tonight, however, shocked her so badly with a soft whisper of admission that she'd stopped crying almost on the spot and stared at him in disbelief. Whereas she had been devastated that they had missed the chance at curing her lycanthropy, he had been relieved, and when he'd said that, her whole world had come to a screeching halt. She hadn't been able to believe her ears or even her eyes when he'd repeated himself. Then he had cupped her face in his hands, held her again, and told her that he'd been afraid he might lose her if she no longer needed his help with her Werewolf form.
Her fingertips ran lightly over his face, brushing over his gentle curves and relishing in the touch. She would always need him. She had known that for years now, but she had realized tonight just how much she did need him. And also the fact that she didn't really need to be cured. She had viewed her lycanthropy as an illness and a curse for years, but if it had not been for her Werewolf side, she would have never found Ian. She would have never known love, and she would have probably died a long time ago. The emptiness that had been eating away at her until he'd filled it would have been enough to kill any woman.
Yes, she thought, letting out a soft puff of air, she had her lycanthropy to thank for a lot of things, and she had Ian to thank for everything else. Without either, she would have still been searching for something to fill the void inside of her, for something to appease the craving of her womanhood, but no man save Ian could do that for she could never love any other. They'd been down every avenue, survived through countless living nightmares, and faced death a thousand times over all to try to find a cure for her, but her lycanthropy was in itself the cure she had needed ever since finding herself lost and alone in the world.
She had been alone even when surrounded with hundreds of people. She had been alone even when surrounded with friends and family who had claimed to love and care for her. She had been alone, and in great spiritual and emotional pain, until she had met Ian and he had worked his way into her guarded heart. She had thought that she was a wild and rough woman then, but it was Ian, as well as her lycanthropy, that had taught her the true meaning of life and how to really grab it for all it had to offer.
Her life, Randi realized as she continued to run her fingers lovingly over her mate's face, would have been empty if not for Ian and her so-called curse. It was not a curse, after all, just as he had told her tonight for the first time. It had taught her how to truly live, had given her her missing half and the incredible love they shared, and had even helped her to save more innocent people than whose names she could even all remember. It had filled that void in her life to where it overran with love and happiness, and yet she had been so determined to get rid of it.
"No more," she murmured, and Ian's full mouth twitched underneath her etching fingertips. It had saved her. It was no curse but rather a cure. She smirked. Well, maybe it itself wasn't a cure, but it had given her her cure. It had given her her love, her Ian, her reason for living, for surviving, for existing, for believing that things could and would get better, no matter how dire the circumstances looked at any time.
"Hrm?" Ian queried in his sleep, and she leaned forward and kissed his twitching lips softly.
"It's okay," she reassured him, not wanting to wake him for she knew he was even more exhausted than she, but then she couldn't help adding, "And thank you, love."
His eyes blinked blearily open, and he gazed into her beautiful, brown orbs. He cupped her cheek and drew his thumb softly across her gentle flesh. "For what?" he whispered.
Her smile deepened. "For loving me," she answered humbly. "For everything you do for me, for us. For always being there for me. For riding life with me. For teaching me. For being my cure."
Ian's eyebrows shot up at her last comment, but before he could ask her what she was thinking, and check to make sure that she'd not had too much to drink while he'd been sleeping, Randi was kissing him senseless again. He held to her and kissed her back with all the passion and love he'd always feel for her alone as together they began to ride the brinks of passion once more. He wasn't sure what she was talking about, but it didn't matter. He loved her, and he loved riding the tumultuous waves of life with her.
She broke from his mouth to gasp out, "Happy Halloween," but the "Hallow" in her favorite holiday's name came out as a howl. She didn't try to stop herself. She just went with the flow and let the howl escape, and when it had gone, and she still hadn't wolfed out, she saw Ian still smiling up at her.
"I love you," he told her. "You do know that, right?"
"I know that," she answered, unconsciously wriggling her nose at him, "and I love you! You're right about the cure, Ian. I don't need that, baby, 'cause you already cured my life. You're all I need, all I want, and all I love! I love you!" The last word shattered from her lips into another howl, but he leaned up and caught her mouth with his. Together they rode out the howl and the surges rippling through Randi's body, and together they would always ride out the worst and the best that life had to offer as they rode their shared, unique existence together and loved each other for all time.