Aiding the Recovery (Hathor & Marcus)

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Romania.

Marcus didn't, to his great frustration, have a clue what Hathor liked. Well, no, that was unfair. Marcus knew what Hathor liked in regards to marital activities. He knew how to please her better than he had known how to please any woman, really. But, outside of the bedroom, he was at a loss. It was a terrible thing to have to admit to after a year of marriage, but Marcus really did not have any idea as to what made Hathor happy.

The Healer had advised Marcus that distractions of the things Hathor liked most would aid a lot in the healing process. Hathor had not come to the meeting with Marcus, and had refused to see the family's Healer. Therefore, he could not have asked for input here. A greater man might have been able to ask, too, but Marcus could not begin to pretend that he could insult her in such a manner.

Thus, he had taken a trip to see her parents. After explaining that Hathor was... refusing to see most people, Marcus had been able to get down to things that would help her. Her likes, any favourite things from her childhood that might help, foods she liked, films. Anything that would help. Marcus had come away with a list, as well, and he'd passed it on to the staff. The meals that were prepared focused on Hathor's favourites. Her baths were made with the scents that she favoured instead of what were simply available. The library was stocked up with more French history books than the library had ever seen. The piano had been retuned for Hathor's use, and the dance floor polished to a perfect shine.

Everything Marcus could do, he had done.

The fitful night's sleep that Hathor had had, he'd woken her gently from the nightmare, and held her close, reassuring her that she was safe. That no one could hurt her. Eventually Marcus had taken to not sleeping with his back to her, and instead lying behind Hathor and holding her close to his body. Protecting her from the nightmares as much as he could until morning came.

Business would come in to interfere when the sun came up, but the staff knew to call him from his office if Hathor got upset, or if she needed him. They were not to question her as to what she needed, only that if she needed him, he must be summoned.

Life was changing, but Marcus wasn't sure that it was a bad thing.

Which was why he'd planned a small, one night trip to Romania for the two of them. One thing Hathor's family had said was that Hathor liked animals, but specifically dragons. Why, he did not know, but he was going to take her up to the reserve for the day, so that she could see the beasts she loved.

"Are you ready, sweetheart?" Marcus asked, a term that had fallen in to being since she'd come home. He hauled their overnight bag on to his shoulder, and held out his hand to his wife. "Your bag has everything you'll need. I just need you to be sure this is going to be okay?" Marcus insisted, he'd told her they'd be staying away for the night, but he'd not mentioned where. He'd told her it would only be the two of them, but not what they would be doing. Marcus had repeated a hundred times that they would be okay on this trip.

It was just a case of whether she could trust him.

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Time was going by slowly, but Hathor had still not fully recovered from what had happened during those unbelievable days. Marcus though had been supporting her all this time, making sure she had everything she needed. The first days after she had gotten home were terrible. She wouldn't see anyone, of course, and her nights were restless. Nightmares wouldn't allow her the privilege of sleep, as she kept waking up two or three times every night, shaking, scared to the bone. It was haunting.

But Marcus had been there. Even though he used to sleep facing away from her, he slowly changed that. He would now pull her close to his body, embracing her and he always made sure she felt safe and well protected. Of course the nightmares were not completely gone, but she were able to get some night's sleep. She did feel safe in the arms of her husband.

He had been trying so, so hard to make her happy. Even when he had to leave for work, he always made sure to leave someone behind in case she needed anything. And even when she needed him, he would leave his work for her, always running to her side, even if it was just for a hug. Hathor had tried not to distract him from his work, but there were times when she needed him so much that she just had to get him home. To hug him, kiss him.

They had grown close. Closer than she had ever believed they would. But even if she despised even the though one year ago, she was very glad now. She liked being close to him. She had grown to love and need his company. She had gained a friend. A friend that made her happy.

"Are you ready, sweetheart?"

Marcus' words brought her back to reality though, and Hathor looked up at her husband who was now offering his hand to her. Marcus had informed her that they were going to spend the night away, but he hadn't mentioned where. Knowing Marcus, he was planning something, so Hathor did not ask for details. Instead, she just made sure to dress warmly in a pair of black jeans, one of Marcus' burgundy sweaters that was of course too big on her, and a pair of vans. A coat was held in her arms as well just in case.

"Your bag has everything you'll need. I just need you to be sure this is going to be okay?"

Hathor smiled a little and took his hand, hiding herself into his arms once again, were she felt safe and warm. She was tiny in comparison to him, and she loved it so much. A part of her was kinda scared, but she trusted Marcus. She had grown to trust him and she knew deep down that all he wanted was to make her happy.
"It will be okay..." The witch repeated, more to herself than Marcus. She needed to stay calm and trust him.

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Trust was something you earned over time, Marcus knew that. How long it took for you to trust someone fully, however, was a matter that he could not even pretend to comprehend. Trust was building between the two of them, though, it would be impossible for it not to have grown after everything that had happened, everything they were going through. It was good, though, in a weird way, Marcus was gaining a friend in the most unpredictable manner.

Though, Marcus would not pretend he had opened up himself to Hathor, he had allowed her to open up to him. To open up a little to their relationship. But, it was moving in a positive direction.

"It will be okay." Marcus echoed, his voice sure of that much in the moment. "But, if you don't like it, if you really, really want to come home. You just say those words, and we'll be right back." Marcus continued, giving her hand a small squeeze to help the reassurance process.

Wrapping his arm around her securely, Marcus counted to three in his head. Knowing the Portkey in the bag would be going off soon. "Hold on tight." He added, giving Hathor enough time to adjust her grip on him before the pulling at the navel came, transporting them across the continent. To Romania. To the dragon sanctuary.

As they landed, the mountainous area of the sanctuary formed around them, and Marcus held Hathor until he'd steadied them both. "Welcome to the home of the dragons, sweetheart." Marcus explained, motioning further up the mountain where one of the beasts was circling the peak. "I've arranged for you to meet the young dragons that have just been hatched. This way." Marcus insisted, taking Hathor's hand and gently leading her down towards the building that the Dragon Handlers stayed with the babies.

Hopefully... this would be enough.

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Marcus made sure to explain to her that if, for whatever reason, she felt like she wanted to get back home, she only needed to say so, and they would be back in an instant. He cared for her so much, and Hathor felt loved after so long. Who would have thought that Hathor Valois and Marcus Westbrook would actually get along that well, if they really wanted to.

"Hold on tight."

That was the warning as the Portkey went off a few seconds later, apparating them out of their Mansion and to... Romania. Hathor knew it was Romania before Marcus even had the chance to say so. The woman had an insane love for Dragons, so there was no way she wouldn't have known of this place. This place that she had always meant to visit, but had never had the chance to. And Marcus had arranged them to stay here for a whole night?

"Welcome to the home of the dragons, sweetheart."

Hathor's eyes were wide, a big smile touching her lips, both at the sight of the dragon, but also at the cute nickname Marcus had adopted for her. But how could he have known her intense love for Dragons? That would have required an exhaustively research, but after all, this was Marcus Westbook we were talking about. He would always find out what he was looking for. And this time, it was what made Hathor happy.

"I've arranged for you to meet the young dragons that have just been hatched. This way."

Hathor's eyes widened even more, if possible, as she heard Marcus speak those words. He couldn't be serious, could he?
"Y-You have?!" But she didn't wait for him to answer, as she followed close behind, reaching out to take his hand like a small kid. Her excitement was obvious, and Hathor didn't know what to do to thank him for this.

Pulling him back abruptly, Hathor made a small weird face, before she smiled up at Marcus with her big green eyes staring at him.
"Thank you, Marcus. I mean, Mister Westbrook." She tried to imitate one of his businessmen's voice, but failed epically. A small giggle echoed right afterwards, and Hathor bit her lip to stop it. She was acting like a kid who had been given chocolates. She was that happy.

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"Y-You have?!"

"Of course, I know that you like dragons." Marcus replied as Hathor hurried after him, taking his hand. He could feel the excitement radiating off of her, and he had to fight to contain the smile that tried to make an appearance on his lips. Sometimes the age gap really did show, Hathor being a little more childish than he was used to, but if she was happy, he could not fault her for it.

As Hathor pulled him back, however, Marcus let the smile touch his lips, just a little. The way she spoke was... well, cute. He hadn't seen her smiling so much... ever, really. But, it was nice to see her relaxed, happy, after all she'd been through. It was all he'd been working for ever since she'd gotten back. "You don't need to thank me." He told her, stepping around her and leading her on towards the building. Honestly, Marcus wasn't one hundred percent sure how to deal with Hathor like this, so he was going to get her to the dragons, and make the dragon handlers deal with her hyper state.

Reaching the building, Marcus opened the door for them both, moving in to the small reception area. The receptionist looked up as the door closed, and upon seeing Marcus - who had been only a few days ago to make the final arrangements, she hurried around the desk.

"Good morning, Mr. Westbrook. Mrs Westbrook, lovely to finally meet you." She greeted the pair. "Sylvia, by the way." She added for Hathor's benefit. Marcus simply waited for a moment, he was not the kind of man who took to idle chat, and least of all, women with idle chat. Sylvia took note, and quickly moved on. "If you'd like to go through the door on the right, Mr. Evans is waiting for you both." Sylvia explained, motioning to the door in question. "I'll bring you refreshments shortly." Sylvia finalised, moving out of their way.

Marcus was glad of that much, motioning for Hathor to head on in first. After all, all of this was for her. His own love for Magical Beasts was remote, but he wouldn't leave Hathor on her own.

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"Of course, I know that you like dragons."

The statement caused the witch to raise an eyebrow at the man before her. Her husband. Hathor had never mentioned this to him, she was positive, but it did not surprise her too much that he knew. Marcus was trying to make her happy, and since they had grown close, he had surely spent some time to find out just what she liked. But she couldn't help the smile that formed on her lips. Because even if she wanted to hide this, she was glad that Marcus showed her some interest. Because she was falling for him.

But as a small smile touched Marcus' lips, Hathor couldn't help but feel something shift in her. Yes, she was definitely falling for him. And harder than she expected. He looked so handsome when he smiled, but Hathor was simply not comfortable telling him such things. They were simply not so open with each other just yet.
But will we ever be?, the voice in her head asked. The witch didn't pay much mind to that though, and instead followed her husband towards the building.

"Good morning, Mr. Westbrook. Mrs Westbrook, lovely to finally meet you."

"Morning, Miss...?" Hathor looked up at Marcus, but before he could say a word -not like he looked very eager to speak- the woman spoke up, introducing herself as Sylvia. Marcus was obviously not in the mood to chit chat, as always, and one look was all it took for the other woman to get things moving. Hathor rolled her eyes at that, not understanding why Marcus always had to be so cold, but she didn't make a move to confront him about that.

"If you'd like to go through the door on the right, Mr. Evans is waiting for you both."

"Let's go, mon chéri!" Hathor started tagging on Marcus hand, not wanting to leave him alone. Or more like, she just wanted to be next to him, with him, through all of this. She wanted to forget all the bad things that had happened to her, and make new memories, with Marcus. Happy memories that would follow her for the rest of her life.

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As Hathor pulled him along, Marcus took a few moments to process the French she had spoken. Her voice, of course, had always held the French twang when she spoke English, but Marcus had never really thought too much on the fact they only ever conversed in English. His language. Too often, he forgot that the witch was in a foreign country, being pushed out of her depth, and forced to talk in a tongue that was not her own.

But, the thought of speaking in French was not one that held for long.

Instead, Marcus brought himself back to the now as they entered the room they'd been shown, and there stood Mr. Evans, looking expectant and ready. Excited, perhaps, but Marcus wasn't overly sure.

"Good morning, sir. Madam." Mr. Evans greeted, stepping forward to shake Marcus' hand. Marcus accepted the handshake, but cut Mr. Evans off before he could step forward to Hathor.

"My wife is very excited to see the dragons." Marcus interupted the smaller man, who paused in his attempt to greet Hathor with a kiss to the hand and instead turned to the litter of dragons behind him. Hathor might have been okay with the greeting, but Marcus was not about to risk a trigger of a man coming towards her like that. As Mr. Evans moved, Marcus brought Hathor round to the small indoor keep that held the beasts, and moved her to stand in front of him. Their hands still entwined, but Marcus' eyes on Hathor, not the dragons.

"I'm glad you have an interest, Mrs Westbrook." Mr. Evans said, kneeling down to the small dragons which were only the size of his arm at best. "I have a couple of different types, here, the Norwegian Ridgeback, he's only a week old now, his mother abandoned him in the hills." He continued, before pointing to a green one. "There is a Welsh Green, she's a week and a half now, but smaller than the Ridgeback. If you want to step over the side, and come and feed them, you're more than welcome to help me on this matter." Mr. Evans added, his eyes fleeting to Marcus to see if this was okay.

A small nod to the man was all he gave, barely noticeable.

"Go on, I'm right here." Marcus whispered to Hathor, pressing a small kiss to her cheek.

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"My wife is very excited to see the dragons."

And it was the truth. Hathor was much too eager to see the creatures, but that did not mean that she felt nice when Marcus was being harsh once again. These people were trying their best, she could see, to please both of them, but Marcus Westbrook just couldn't be pleased, could he? Though when the man went to take her hand in order to kiss it, Marcus' words were what stopped him from making another move.
As of instinct, Hathor took a step back, avoiding any contact with any other man except Marcus. She did not mean it. She did not want to move away from the man, since he had done nothing to her, but her body was simply not ready. She was not ready to touch any other man. Only Marcus had that privilege. His touch was what kept her calm.

As the man went to attend to the dragons, Hathor took the time to reach up and place a soft kiss on Marcus' cheek, as a thank you. How he knew how she felt was unknown to the witch, but for some reason, he was prepared. Prepared to protect her from anyone and everything.

"I'm glad you have an interest, Mrs Westbrook."

Hathor's smile was back in place as the man spoke up, now knelt next to the little creatures who had the witch's full attention.

"I have a couple of different types, here, the Norwegian Ridgeback, he's only a week old now, his mother abandoned him in the hills."

The were so little, and Hathor couldn't help but stare. They were only babies, small little creatures that looked way too cute to be dangerous. Hathor of course, knew well enough that they could be just as harmful, but these ones seemed to be very calm. They wouldn't hurt her. They couldn't hurt her.

"There is a Welsh Green, she's a week and a half now, but smaller than the Ridgeback. If you want to step over the side, and come and feed them, you're more than welcome to help me on this matter."

Her eyes moved from one dragon to the other, and Hathor's excitement grew. She wanted to get closer to them, touch them, feed them. She wanted to spend time with these creatures with whom she felt so familiar with, without a reason. There was just something that made her feel... safe.
With Marcus' encouragement -and the small kiss on her cheek-, Hathor slowly moved away from his side, and closer to the man and the dragons, following his lead and kneeling down next to the creatures.

She was very careful in the beginning. Only extending her hand just a little bit for the dragons to smell her and see she was not meaning any threat.
"They are so beautiful..."

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As Hathor moved to the creatures, Marcus took up a seat on the side of the pen that had been set up. Watching her interact with the animals first with mild hesitation, but slowly growing with confidence. It was good to see, and the smile on his wife's features was one he knew he could not personally replicate. It was a beautiful tragedy, that realisation, but so long as Hathor was relaxed, happy, Marcus didn't much care for the personal damage it might do.

After all, Hathor was a Westbrook now.

"They are so beautiful..."

"They are indeed, Mrs Westbrook." Mr. Evans agreed with a smile, moving the bucket towards Hathor so that she could feed them. "Please, take a chunk and offer it to the dragons. Mind your fingers, though, they're not very good with their manners, truth be told." He added, letting out a small laugh.

"So, when did you first become interested in dragons?" Mr. Evans continued, giving a cautious glance to Marcus. Marcus didn't look away from Hathor, though, too busy watching her with the beasts. Though, his own interest had peaked with the question that had been posed.

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"Please, take a chunk and offer it to the dragons. Mind your fingers, though, they're not very good with their manners, truth be told."

The woman was not surprised to hear that. Dragons were wild creatures, and manners were obviously something they would lack of. But still, Hathor felt as if these little things were not going to hurt her. Maybe they could tear others to pieces, but Hathor would be safe, she was sure of that.

Taking a chunk, as the man had told her, Hathor slowly moved closer to the Dragon babies, opening her hand and allowing them to come to her. They would smell the food immediately, and so they did, as they slowly came towards her, earning a small giggle from the witch. How more beautiful could they be?

"So, when did you first become interested in dragons?"

"I've always.. always loved them. Don't know why, I just do. They are majestic creatures. Powerful and beautiful."
A dark one started to rub its head against her hand, and Hathor turned from the man to Marcus with a wide smile.
"He likes me.."

» History Repeats Itself [Hathor & Marcus]
» A Respectful Request (Hathor & Marcus)
» The Wedding Nightmare [Marcus & Hathor]
» Silence is a Powerful Scream [Marcus & Hathor][Mature Content - Vulgar/Violent Themes]
» Recovery Training (Amethyst & TJ)