If We Had No Winter - A Post for Winterfest Online 2018
If We Had No Winter
By Katie Armistead
“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant…” – Anne
Bradstreet, Meditations Divine and Moral
“If ever two were one, then
surely we.
If ever man were loved by wife,
then thee;
If ever wife was happy in a man,
Compare with me ye women if you
can.”
-Anne Bradstreet, To My Dear and Loving Husband
They were calling it a “bomb”,
the storm that was approaching New York.
It looked like a hurricane on the satellite images Catherine saw on TV,
but it was bringing cold and snow. It
was bringing too much snow, and high winds, and very cold air, and lots of
things that would be bad for the city, and bad for those Below when it started
to melt.
Catherine was included in those
Below these days. She and Vincent had
been formally joined at long last, and she normally lived Below with him. This week, however, her job had caused her to
work too many late nights, and she had to stay in her apartment for several
nights. To top it off, she was coming
down with the horrible office cold, which had caused the increase in her
workload in the first place.
“Wonderful,” Catherine said to
herself as she watched the weather report. “This is going to be bad for
everybody.”
Just then, instead of a tap at
her window to go with the sudden warmth in her heart, there was a soft,
gravelly voice saying “Talking to oneself is never a good sign, Catherine.”
“Vincent!” she exclaimed, and
launched herself into his embrace. “I
really needed this tonight!”
“I confess I did as well, Catherine.”
Vincent drew back from her a
little, noticed the glassiness of her eyes, the redness of her nose. “Catherine, you are catching a cold!”
“Yes, the office crud is catching
up with me. If the weather is as bad as
expected tomorrow, I am calling in sick like almost everybody else already is.”
“You should come Below tonight,
Catherine. Let us take care of you.”
“Oh, Vincent, I would hate to
bring this crud down there! Think of the
elderly that are sheltering there already because of the coming storm! This virus could be a real danger to them!”
“Catherine, I doubt you would be
around them. I will keep you in our
chamber, in our bed, by force if need be!” This he punctuated with a mock-growl
and a squeeze, to let her know he was teasing her.
Catherine giggled. “Vincent, you certainly know by now that you
wouldn’t have to force me!”
“I should hope not! We ARE still
newlyweds, after all!” he replied with a laugh.
Such joy they both had in that
fact. FINALLY, finally, they were
embarking on the living of their Dream.
“Still, Vincent, I don’t want to
chance it if I don’t have to. I’ll see
what the weather is in the morning; if it is as bad as expected, I will come
Below, I promise, germs or not!”
“I fear it may well be as bad, if
not worse, than the predictions are saying, Catherine. Already the wind is picking up, and it has an
extremely cold edge to it. Even I had
more difficulty than usual getting up here tonight.”
“Then you had better go before it
gets any worse, or I will worry myself even sicker about your safety! Not that I want you to go; I feel so much
better here in your arms.”
“I know, Catherine, I know.”
Vincent held her even tighter for awhile, then sighed and said, “Promise me you
will go to bed now, and not stay up working?
Rest will help you fight the cold.”
“I promise. See, my briefcase is already all packed up in
case I go to the office tomorrow. There
is nothing more in there that I can work on here. The rest requires research and phone calls,”
she told him quite truthfully. For once,
she had no long hours’ worth of work to do at home. “I was on my way to bed when you came
in. I was just checking the weather one
last time.”
“All right, Catherine. I am glad you won’t be tempted to stay up
working. You need more rest than you
get! Here, I’ll tuck you in, and make my
way home before the wind gets any worse.”
“Mmmm. That sounds good, but I will be tempted to
keep you here too long, you know,” she answered with a grin.
“I realize the risk, Catherine,
but I am hoping your concern for my safety will win out over our libidos
tonight,” he replied, returning her grin.
Vincent got Catherine all
properly tucked in, and very properly kissed good night, and fought his way
home through the beginnings of the storm. This
is going to be worse than they are predicting.
It’s already starting to snow, and they hadn’t predicted that to start
until mid morning.
It was indeed worse than they
were predicting. High winds had already
started snapping power transmission lines, and generators were going to be hard
put to keep up with demand. Catherine’s
building did not have an emergency generator, and though the heat was produced
by natural gas, the blower system and thermostats were run by electricity. During the night, while she slept, Catherine’s
apartment began to grow cold. Yes, it was pretty well insulated, but all that
exposed glass on the balcony doors, and the fact that the wind was whipping
around and against them, bled off the retained heat pretty quickly.
The cold was starting to seep
into Catherine’s dreams. She was on an
iceberg, looking for Vincent, and Frankenstein’s monster was chasing her. She woke with a start.
I guess re-reading Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein last week wasn’t
such a good idea. Man, it’s COLD in
here! Dark, too. Time to head Below.
She swung her legs to the floor,
and was about to stand when a wave of dizziness hit. Her head felt stuffy, and her ears hurt. She was also VERY cold.
Great. It’s nasty out, the heat
and electricity are out, I have to get Below, only I’m waaay too dizzy to make
it down 18 flights of stairs, plus the basement steps, not to mention the
ladder.
She flopped back down on the bed,
cuddled up in the covers and tried to think of a way to get help getting
Below. She was still very tired, it was
very early in the morning, and she decided she had time to snooze a bit more,
if she could, and then call in, and maybe by then, she’d be able to walk Below
on her own.
While she slept, though, she
developed a fever, and she was even more congested.
Vincent woke with a start. Something was VERY wrong. The bond told him Catherine was sleeping, but
her sleep felt very troubled, like she was very ill. With the weather as it was, there was no way
he could safely get to her now, not to mention it would soon be too light, and
she’d have to come Below through her building anyway. He dressed quickly and decided to speak with
Father. Perhaps he could come up with an
idea to get Catherine Below. She really
SHOULD have come Below last night.
“Ah, Vincent, you’re up early,
aren’t you?” Father asked as Vincent walked into the study.
“Yes. Catherine woke me up,” he replied.
“She’s Below then? That’s a good
thing. That weather up there is much
worse than first expected. There are
massive power outages, and many of our Helpers are making their way here to at
least get a hot meal and warm up a bit.
Did Catherine come down late last night?”
“No, Father, she is still
Above. What woke me was a disturbance in
our bond. She is very cold, and, I fear,
too ill to make it down here on her own.
That is why she wanted to stay Above, hoping she wouldn’t have to come
Below bearing that awful respiratory virus that’s been playing havoc with her
office.”
“Oh, dear. Well, Peter is on his way down. He is not having office hours today,
obviously, and has offered his services here.
We will send him up with someone to help in case Catherine needs more
than a little assistance. I’m sure he’ll
be glad to go check on his errant Goddaughter," Father said.
“That’s an excellent idea,
Father. Peter will arouse no suspicion
if anyone sees him; they know he’s been to Catherine’s apartment many times. “
About this time, Peter walked in
to the study, and greeted Father and Vincent.
“It truly is blowing up a gale
out there,” Peter said. “I’m grateful
for the chance to stay here and help out.
Even my power went out!”
Vincent turned to Peter and said, “We
are glad to have you, Peter, but there is one more trip Above I’d ask you to
make, if you don’t mind…”
“Don’t tell me that stubborn
Goddaughter of mine is still up there,” Peter exclaimed. “No worries, Vincent, I’ll drag her down here
by the hair if I have to!”
“Take someone with you,
Peter. The reason she isn’t down here is
that she is ill. I tried to get her to
come Below last night, but she was adamant that she didn’t want anyone to catch
the 'Office Crud', as she termed it, that she has apparently caught. The bond feels off to me; I believe she is
cold and dizzy, perhaps even now trying to figure out how to get herself down
here safely. She’s awake, but things
seem much fuzzier than usual.”
“No doubt she has a fever, and
her ears are probably infected. That
girl just will NOT take care of herself! I thought being married to you would
make her more interested in taking care of herself, Vincent. I guess I’ll have to have a little talk with
her. Let me grab a volunteer and I’ll
head up there. You’re going to wait by the threshold for us, I suppose,” Peter
finished with a grin.
“Of course, “ Vincent replied.
While this was taking place,
Father had discreetly sent for Kanin, who appeared in the study just as Peter
was about to ask who he could commandeer to go get Catherine.
“You needed my help, Father,”
Kanin asked.
“Yes, Kanin. It seems Catherine was so determined to
protect us from her cold that she stayed Above last night, and now is too dizzy
to get down here herself. Vincent can’t
go, for obvious reasons, so would you please go with Peter in case Catherine
needs more assistance than he alone can offer?”
“Sure thing. Are you ready, Peter? I know she won’t get mad at me, especially if
you are the first one she sees!”
“She will likely be very glad to
see both of you,” Vincent interjected. “She
was going to come down this morning, but from the bond I gather she is too dizzy
to trust herself alone on all those stairs.
The power is likely out, and the elevator not working.”
“Well, let’s go, then, she’s
probably freezing, “ Kanin observed, and the three walked out to go to
Catherine’s threshold.
Phone. That was the phone. Ringing.
Catherine grabbed for it, and luckily got it before the world went
sideways again and she fell on the bed.
She had managed to find her warm fuzzy robe and slippers, and got those
on, but that was about it.
“Hello,” she managed to say.
“Oh, no. You’ve got the crud, on top of this awful
weather; well, then the news that the office is closed and we are ordered to
stay away until further notice will be welcome to you, eh Radcliffe?”Joe’s
voice sounded disgustingly normal and healthy.
“Yeah. On both counts, you’re right, boss. I’ll see
you after the thaw,” she said.
“OK. Take care, Cath. Call if you need anything.”
“Will do. If you call and I’m not here, it means Peter
probably found a way to get me to his place where he can keep an eye on
me. Ever since Dad died, Peter has taken
over for him.”
“That’s good, Radcliffe. Spreads the worry out among more of us. Behave yourself, and get well!”
“Thanks, Joe. I will.
Bye.”
“Bye, Cath.”
She hung up the phone and was
considering dialing Peter’s number when she heard a key in the front door lock.
Peter opened the door, but the
chain was on. “Cathy,” he called, “it’s
Peter, come take the chain off the door."
“I’ll be right there,” she called
as best she could with her sore throat and froggy voice, and made her way to the door, hanging on to
furniture, walls, and the door frame.
She got the chain off, and Peter
and Kanin came in.
“Oh, you do have the crud, don’t
you, Sweetie?” Peter observed. He
propelled her to the couch, opened his bag, and did an evaluation right
there. “Uh, huh, it’s in your ears for
sure, and you have a fever. “ He gave
her some aspirin, having asked Kanin to bring a glass of water from the
kitchen, and he gave her a decongestant also.
“That should help the fever and the ear troubles. Let’s get you Below. Anything you need to bring along?”
“No, just myself. Most of my things are in our chamber now,
anyway. Thanks so much for coming, both
of you,” Catherine replied.
“It’s my pleasure, Catherine, to help
you, since you have helped Livvie and me so much, and also, helping you helps
Vincent, and that is something any of us Below would gladly do,” Kanin replied,
and he helped her up and took her arm.
Peter took her other arm, and
they got her out the door, which Peter carefully locked, and proceeded to guide
her down to the threshold. They were fortunate that most of the other residents
were either already gone, or bundled up in front of their fireplaces for the
duration, so they saw no one on the stairs.
“Vincent’s waiting, isn’t he?”
“Yes , Cathy, of course he is,”
Peter replied, smiling.
Catherine smiled too. “I knew he would be. I hate doing this to him, making him worry
like this. I really didn’t want to
chance any of the older Helpers catching this stuff. It’s awful.”
“He knows that, Cathy. He loves you though, so of COURSE he’s going
to worry. You won’t likely infect anyone
else, anyway, since your chamber now has the separate bedchamber, and I don’t
imagine you’ll feel like leaving it until you’re no longer contagious,” Peter
replied with a wink and a smile.
“Vincent told me last night I
wouldn’t be allowed out of bed.” Promises,
promises, she thought, but did not say.
Peter and Kanin exchanged a
knowing smile. This being married stuff
was old hat to them, but still very new to Cathy and Vincent. No matter that they had been committed to one
another almost from the beginning, being married made it official, made it
expected, that you be responsible for and to each other. Also, it was rather expected that when you
are newlyweds, you may be rather, um, fond of any excuse for privacy.
When they got to the threshold,
Vincent was there, at the top of the ladder, and opened the door as soon as
they had moved the boxes.
“Catherine,” he said, as Peter
and Kanin helped her down to the doorway.
“Vincent, “ she replied, gladly
snuggling into his embrace as he carefully turned her so she could climb down
the ladder in front of him, so he could keep her from falling.
At the bottom of the ladder, as
Peter and Kanin climbed down and secured the secret door, Vincent scooped
Catherine up and started toward the hub.
“Your hands are like ice! Was the heat out? “ he asked.
“Yes, it still is. I gathered the blankets around me and
shuffled to the closet and got my robe and fuzzy slippers out. It was hard; I had to go from the bench at
the end of the bed to the dresser, and hang on to the dresser while I opened
the closet, but I made it!”
“Yes, so you did. We’ll get you tucked into bed with some of
those foot warmers that Mouse and Mary collaborated on,” Vincent replied as
they were nearing their chamber.
Mouse had found some smooth river
stones, and Mary had made some insulated bags to fit them. When the stones were heated by the kitchen
hearth, they could be tucked into one of the bags and put down under the covers
at the foot of the bed to safely heat a nice space for one's toes.
“That sounds lovely. I feel like I could sleep for a week,”
Catherine responded.
They entered their chamber to
find Mary just coming out of the bedchamber.
“I’ve got the foot warmer already in place, Catherine. Peter tapped a message after he got back down
that you would probably need that.
Father will check on you later, as you know that though he trusts Peter,
he feels you are his patient now!”
“Thank you, Mary. I know Father feels responsible for me now,
too, and that’s all right. You are all
my family now. Officially, even! I feel responsible for all of you, too,”
Catherine answered.
Mary smiled and patted her
shoulder, and went on her way. “Thank you, Mary,” Vincent called after her.
As he tucked Catherine into bed,
Vincent noticed that she was indeed, quite fatigued. “You sleep now, Catherine. I’ll come back in a little while and rest
with you.”
“Poor Vincent, you didn’t sleep
very well last night either, did you?”
“No, Catherine, I’m afraid I didn’t,
but Father told me I could take the day off teaching, and I should take care of
you. The children are helping settle all
the Helpers that want to shelter from the storm, so there are no classes.”
“Well, I am glad we are able to
shelter at least some of the Helpers.
You know where the checkbook is if Father needs to use Margaret’s
bequest for anything, right?”
“Yes, Catherine, and never fear,
he will use it if we need it. Sleep now.”
Vincent smoothed the hair back from her face, ensured the blankets were tucked
around her, and went to change clothes.
He stood by the bed, watching her sleep. It was all still so new in so many ways, this
“married” status he found himself in. He
looked down at his hands, and saw the gold band on his finger.
That ring.
The weight of it.
The promise it represented.
Its truth: That he was hers and she his.
The responsibility it represented.
It was more than just his right , it was his duty to be with her in this
as in all things. Not that long ago, he
would have run from being this close to her, even though she needed his
physical warmth like this. It was a
glorious and also daunting thing to actually BE as responsible for her as he had
always FELT himself to be.
That she felt responsible for his well being also went without
saying. She took every precaution to
protect him, and this world. If only she
would see taking care of herself and her health as part of taking care of him –
because it was.
He knew she did many things Above
to protect both him and his world, not least of which was keeping herself out
of physical danger as much as possible.
Her new job preparing cases for trial saw to that. She still ran herself ragged, working too
hard, doing too much, and not letting him and his family take care of her.
He sighed as he carefully got
into bed, and gathered her close without waking her. He looked at her next to him. So cold, so worn out, so determined not to be
a burden, not to appear to be getting “special treatment.” Never mind that she
was one of them, and also a Helper who did far more than most realized, she
felt she couldn’t “impose” on this world with her needs. That would end. He would see to it. She would be made to understand that he and
their family here WANTED to take care of her, NEEDED to give back at least a
little to one who so unselfishly gave so much to them.
He nuzzled her hair a bit,
inhaling that wonderful fragrance of herbs, flowers, and Catherine that had
enchanted him since the beginning. The
physical closeness was no longer a source of fear to him, but a source of
chagrin, sometimes. He often felt, since they had married, as though he couldn’t
keep his hands off of her. She seemed
equally unable to keep from touching him whenever they were in the same room.
Well, they WERE still newlyweds, but all of his hard-won self control seemed to
have fled with the discovery that Catherine was right about their bond, that he
simply COULDN’T hurt her, even when “lost” in passion, because ALL of him loved
her.
She had stopped shivering long
ago. He held her close to him, his sense of her conveying the rest and
recuperation taking place. Everything in
both of them improved when they were close like this. He reflected that there were things he knew
about her now that he hadn’t before – the taste of the skin at the nape of her
neck, the delicacy of her ears, and how his nibbling at them could send both
fever and chills through her, and make
her moan with pleasure and reach back for him, if he snuck up behind her and “assaulted”
her earlobe.
He now knew how completely icy
her feet could be at night, and that she loved to place them on his person, his
legs or his back, particularly, in order to warm them. She now knew that he snarled
when surprised like that.
He looked at her oh' so peaceful
face. She was warm now, of course she
was. She was at last home safe, in his
arms, in their bed, in the heart of a community that loved them both.
They slept soundly for several
hours. Around 4:30 in the afternoon, a
loud growling noise was heard in the chamber.
Catherine giggled.
“Catherine,” Vincent said
groggily, sleep releasing him more slowly than it did her this once. “Was that
YOU?”
“I’m afraid my stomach knows it’s
almost dinner time, and that we slept right through lunch. Also, I didn’t have breakfast, my throat was
too sore,” she answered with a shy smile.
“Well, allow me to dress, and I
shall see about getting a tray from William for us. I intend to stay here with you as much as
possible, the better to enforce the prescribed bed rest!” He leaned over and
kissed her forehead before getting up and gathering his clothing.
She waited until he left, and
then ran into the private bath chamber they shared with Father in order to use
the facilities. When she was finished,
and made her way back to the bedchamber, she heard a familiar voice in the main
chamber. “Cathy? Are you decent? Father
and I would like to take a look at you,” Peter called.
“Come on in, “ she answered as
best she could.
The two doctors found her sitting
up in bed, with a robe around her shoulders, and pillows propping her up.
“Vincent came by the study on his
way to get your dinner tray. We told him
we’d like to look in on you, see how things are with your cold,” Father
explained.
“I’m glad you did. I am hoping I haven’t depleted my resources
too much this time. I really have to
start stepping up and taking better care of myself. I just can’t stand to see Vincent so worried,”
Catherine said.
“Well, Honey, if you recall the
conversation we had a couple of days ago, perhaps I should take that blood
sample we discussed. It’s one reason I
only gave you aspirin and a very mild decongestant this morning,” Peter
replied.
Catherine nodded, and looked at
Father.
“It’s all right, Catherine. I know Peter is your primary physician. Is the blood test for what I suspect it might
be?”
“If you are thinking pregnancy
test, then you are correct,” Catherine replied with a shy grin. “I’m late, and I haven’t been using
precautions for the last several weeks, ever since Vincent and I discussed the
possibility of children. Thank you for
reassuring him, by the way.”
“It was the least I could do,
Catherine, after all the years I spent being wrong about everything. He is indeed more human than anything else,
and I see no reason why you shouldn’t try to have a family. Peter and I will watch you closely, of
course, but I have a feeling everything will be fine.”
Catherine held her arms out to
Father, and he hugged her. “Now, let’s
get some basic vital signs, and Peter will draw some blood, all right?”
Catherine nodded, and the exam
and procedure were completed fairly quickly.
“Well, you definitely have an
upper respiratory virus. We’ll just
prescribe the usual rest and lots of fluids for now, and when we have the test
results, we’ll know what else we can give you, if you need anything,“ Peter
said as they prepared to leave.
“Thank you both. Nobody ever had better care,” Catherine told
them.
“Ah, here’s Vincent with your
dinner. You two both take it easy and rest, and remember, Catherine, LOTS of
fluids,” Father said as they left.
“So, what’s the verdict?” Vincent
asked as he placed the tray on a table near the bed.
“I definitely have an upper
respiratory virus, and they took a blood sample, so we should know if our
suspicions are correct,” Catherine answered him.
He looked at her from under his
bangs as he was handing her a cup of tea. “I don’t have ‘suspicions’,
Catherine. I know.”
“You can feel the baby? Already?”
“I can’t really feel the child,
Catherine, but I know something in the bond has changed; there is a new energy
present. As time passes, it gets more
defined. I am sure when the child is
developed enough, I will sense him or her,” he said, looking at her with the
most profound joy in his eyes.
“And you can still feel me
through the bond, the same as always?”
“Yes. So it would seem my nightmare was in no way
prophetic, thank goodness. I would not
be able to stand not feeling you in my heart, Catherine.”
“I wouldn’t want to be parted from
the warmth you place in my heart either, Vincent. I am so very, very sorry I pushed myself too
hard this week. I never want to worry
you, and I especially don’t want to take any chances with my health now,” she
told him.
“I was thinking to implore you to
consider how taking care of yourself is part of taking care of me, Catherine,
to remember our promises to one another when we were joined. It would seem you have indeed been thinking
that perhaps now you can let me, AND our family, take care of you once in a
while,” Vincent replied.
“Yes, Vincent, I need to stop
feeling like a burden. I know that you
love me, and our family all love me, and I suspect we will have to fight
Father, Mary, Jamie, Mouse, and a few others for the chance to care for our own
offspring, at least for awhile,” she said with laughing eyes.
“Let’s finish our dinner,
Catherine, and then I’ll read to you awhile.
“
“That sounds like a plan. You know 'The Doctors' will probably show up
again as soon as that blood test is done.
I think Father is already pretty certain, himself, though. Mary probably suspects something, too. I’ve caught both of them looking at me with
little knowing smiles lately.”
“Probably so, Catherine, they
have both shepherded quite a few women
through pregnancy and child birth. They
are happy for us.”
“Yes, I know they are,” Catherine said with a smile. “Thank you,
Vincent. Thank you for loving me, for
caring for me, and for this child. I am so
happy, I don’t even mind really that I caught the office crud! I am the
luckiest of women. No woman anywhere has
a husband as wonderful as mine!”
That earned her a very nice kiss,
and a cuddle. Vincent read to her, and
they both fell asleep with their hands joined on her belly. They were one little
family in the midst of their tunnel family, safe, warm, and happy.
They had survived many storms to
get to this point, and though winter still blasted the world Above, all was
right in the world Below.
Better than good, better than
best.
Sweet cozy dreams to you all!
Katie
Special thanks to JoAnn Baca for always being my editor. You're the best, JoAnn!
Labels: classicbbtv, fan fiction, Winterfest Online 2018
7 Comments:
Lovely, Katie! Thank you!!
Wonderful fic! Loved it!
I could feel the cold and then the warmth of a happy life below. Thank you!
Carole W
Very sweet story. Great job, Katie.
I could feel the cold! And then the warmth of their happy life. Thanks!
I like it, perfect for the weather, and sweet.
Enjoyed your story. Read it on a cold winter day with snow on the ground. Your Kansas neighbor
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