Warrior

[sneezychick93]

Hey Guys This is an original story, taking two character from a book my friend and I co-wrote many years ago. Hope you guys like it. These are some of my favorite characters that I write with. Let me know what you think I might do another chapter, but I'm not sure yet.

Part 1

Jonathan saddled his horse. Today he and his bride would go for a horse back ride and celebrate their one year anniversary. So much had happened since he’d met Ivy. Friends as kids who’d grown up together. Separated in High School due to some horrible decisions on his part. Their friendship turned into bitterness and hatred. The people who knew their story didn’t believe them. It was a tale that he could hardly believe himself, but here he was married to the most amazing women in the world. His best friend for a year already.

“What are you thinking about cowboy?” Ivy leaned against the stable door.

“I was thinking about my beautiful bride.” Jonathan grabbed her hand and planted a kiss on her forehead. He took in her beauty. Stunning as always, but something seemed different tonight. She looked tired and a little paler than normal. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Wonderful, why do you ask?” Ivy smiled the same heart melting smile that had warmed her face when Jonathan had woken up from his coma. He loved that smiled.

“You look tired is all.” Jonathan kissed her gloved hand.

“I’m fine. Lets ride.” Ivy mounted her horse and Jonathan followed. They started with a slow trot, but soon found themselves racing to their usual spot by the creek. Jonathan dipped his foot in. Due to the rain storms the last week the water felt colder than normal. The sound of the waterfall had always calmed him when the nightmares returned. He knew it soother Ivy as well. They’d been through so much just a few years ago.

“Jonathan, let’s not think about that today.” Ivy lifted his chin to face her.

“How do you know what I’m thinking about, Love?” Jonathan held her close to his body. Together they sat feet in the water. He let her presence relax his body and mind.

“You have that look on your face. The look you have when remembering a nightmare or the day everything happened.” Ivy took in a shaky breath and he hated himself for causing her to think of that today. “I don’t want to remember that day. Today lets remember our wedding day. The day we got engaged. The day you woke up. Happy memories.” Jonathan kissed her. He wanted to remember this. He remembered their first kiss, their wedding kiss, their first time on their wedding night...

Jonathan’s hands traveled through her hair. Ivy broke away from him. She had a strange look on her face for a moment.

“Are you okay?” Jonathan was starting to get concerned about her. He knew the nightmares were keeping her up lately. She looked exhausted. It was the anniversary of the kidnapping and soon after that was the anniversary of the day Jonathan nearly lost it all. The day he was shot.

“I just thought I was going to sneeze, but it went away.” She smiled and stood up. Jonathan couldn’t resist the urge. He pushed her into the water. Her laughter filled the air and Jonathan dove in after her.

“My bride, you are beautiful soaking wet.” Ivy laughed as she kissed him. He kissed her back ignoring the cold water that had them both shivering now. They swam and kissed and swam some more. Tonight had turned out wonderful.

Ivy’s lips were turning blue, it was starting to get dark. Time to head back to the house.

“Let’s go back to the house. I’ll start a fire and we can have dinner.” Jonathan helped his wife out of the water. Unfortunately they didn’t bring towels. It would be a cold ride home. Starting as slow trot again they found themselves racing, but this time to get out of the cool night air and into dry clothes. Jonathan could see Ivy shivering still as they entered the house. Jonathan began working on the fire before getting changed. Ivy came out of the bedroom in her favorite sweat pants and the sweatshirt he’d given her long ago. It made him happy when she wore it. She looked distracted and the longer Jonathan took in her appearance the more concerned he became. She looked pale, her eyes had circles under them. He stood up and led her to a pallet he’d made on the floor next to the fire place.

“Get warm. I’ll be right back.” Ivy nodded and Jonathan changed into dry sweats. He found Ivy scrubbing at her nose when he came back. Grabbing the box of tissues of the coffee table he handed them to her. “I hope you’re not getting sick.”

“I’m fine, the cold water just made my nose run a little. Hitcshiew! Hihticheiw!” She took a tissue from the tissue box and the gurgling sound that came when she blew sunk his heart. She was sick and in denial.

“Bless you. If I’d known you were getting sick I wouldn’t have pushed you in the water.” Jonathan placed a hand on her forehead. No fever, that was good. She was still shivering though.

“I told you, I’m fine. Just a little tired and cold is all.”

“Ivy, lets not do this again. Trust me, you’re getting sick.” Jonathan didn’t understand why she fought it so much. Then again he was stubborn about it as well. At least he would admit he was sick. He’d just work himself harder when sick for some reason. Ivy usually took about two days to admit being sick, but once she did usually she started to rest and get better.

“Fine, I’m not really feeling well.” Jonathan’s thoughts stopped in their tracks. How long had she been feeling sick? It always took her two days to admit it. Had he been so busy he hadn’t noticed?

“How long have you been feeling sick?” Jonathan held her close feeling like a crummy spouse for not seeing it sooner.

“It started yesterday afternoon. My throat started getting sore and I had a headache before bed last night. Hihh’ hihh Hitchiew!”

“Bless you again.” She held up one finger to announce more coming. He had to admit she looked beautiful even with her eyes fluttering and her nose flaring. He watched her breath hitch a few times before she was released from the torture with a harsh sneeze...or fit of sneezes.

“Hitcheiw! heh hihc’shiew! Hiehithciw! Hihh-hitsch! Hetshiew! huh-hihhh-hutsch!”

“Bless you!” Jonathan stood up and grabbed another blanket and draped it around his wife. She wrapped it around herself. He kissed her forehead again and headed to the bathroom to get some cold medicine. He couldn’t find any...Darn it tomorrow he’d have to make a run into town. Unfortunately it was a 45 minute drive into town and most of the stores would be closed by the time he got there.

He returned and sat next to Ivy on the floor. She curled into his soaking up the warmth of his body. “I’m sorry, but we don’t have any medicine. I can go in to town if you need some though.”

“No, I’ll be fine till tom...hihhthciew! hih-hitchuh! tomorrow.” A few coughs wracked her fragile frame underneath his arms. He hated it when she got sick. He couldn’t protect her or fix it. He just wanted to fix everything for her. So she doesn’t have to worry about anything. “Can you habd be some dissues?”

Jonathan handed her the box and she took a few and blew her nose. Her poor nose sounded so congested. Jonathan waited for her to finish and then kissed her. She pulled away immediately.

“I don’t want you to catch this.”

Jonathan laughed. “If I’m going to get it then the damage is already done. Have you forgotten our ride to the creek already.” Jonathan gave her a sly grin. “Besides my immune system has always been able to fight of your illnesses. I’ve never caught anything from you before.”

“This is the first time I’ve been sick since we got married.” She coughed again.

“How am I doing in the nursing department? Not my strongest trait.”

“You’re a great nurse. I’m feeling better already.” Ivy sneezed a few times into her already sodden tissues. Jonathan handed her some fresh clean ones as she was gearing up for another sneezing fit, but he had a better idea. He leaned in quickly and kissed her passionately scaring away the sneeze...momentarily at least. Ivy kissed him back. He loved this woman. So blessed that God had given her to him. Goodness knows he doesn’t deserve her. Lost in the kiss Jonathan’s hands moved through her hair as she pulled away and turned from him.

“Hetchiew! hihhh-hihtchiew! hihh’hh hi’ihh hitcschiew!”

“Bless you, Ivy.” Jonathan whispered remaining close to her. Leaning in to kiss her again she backed up but not quick enough and sneezed straight onto his chest. Well his shirt.

“Hihhtcheiw! HIHhh HI’HITSCH! hehtCSH! Oh my I’m sorry. I’m not so sure your immune system is going to avoid this cold.” Ivy groaned and leaned into him more. Jonathan could feel her shivering still.

“Are you still cold?” She nodded. “Lets go to bed.”

“It’s only 8:30.” Ivy yawned though.

“You need your rest. I wish we had some cold medicine to make sure you get some good sleep tonight.” Jonathan helped her to her feet. Ivy made her way to the bedroom and Jonathan put out the fire and closed the fireplace. When turned out the kitchen lights he calmed his heart rate. He was not fond of the dark, but he checked the locks and made it to the bedroom with Ivy. She had the bathroom light on as she did every night.

He knew she preferred sleeping in the dark even with the nightmares, but to Jonathan’s weakness and he hated it, but his nightmares were always worse in the dark. They didn’t end when he woke up in the dark. He needed to see Ivy immediately when he woke up from one.

Jonathan crawled into bed with her. She curled up into his body. He hadn’t realized how exhausted he was from work today. One of the horses was pregnant and very testy today. There were many repairs that needed to be made after the storms last week. Tomorrow he had an early morning.

“Hey Cowboy...” Ivy whispered as she curled close to him

“Hey Warrior...I love you.”

“I love you too.” She was asleep within moments. His Warrior. She’d fought through so much. They’d fought together. He would never forget that day. The day he was shot for her. The day she told him she loved him for the first time. The day they saved their siblings together. The day they nearly lost it all. The day they gained each other. Yes, she was his warrior.

TBC?

[chui]

Oh very nice spellings. That's one of my favorite female sounds. This was quite a nice story.

[SneezyCreed]

Nicely done, please continue!!

[NoV]

Nice rapid-fire fits I look forwards to reading more...

[Ezmac_45]

Great story would love to see the next part

[sneezychick93]

Hey guys so I'd forgotten I'd even posted this until it was bumped back to the top of the forum. I started working on part two a few days ago, but I'm not sure how I like it yet, so I'm kinda taking it slow, but it will be up and I hope you enjoy it when it does finally go up!

Thanks for being so patient and reminding me I had started this.

[sneezychick93]

It only took me an eternity to post this!! Sorry guys, things have been majorly stressful! don't let me complain, here's another chapter from my two favorite characters.

Ivy woke up around five to find Jonathan on the bathroom floor with his Bible open. Immediately she knew a nightmare had awakened him. Sometimes she wondered if they would ever stop. For her they hadn’t. Climbing out of bed, she went to sit next to him.

“How long have you been up?” She asked as she sat next to him on the cold floor. He didn’t respond at first.

“I haven’t slept more than 20 minutes yet.”

Ivy coughed into her wrist. She’d almost forgotten she’d had a cold. Today would either be the worst day of her cold or she’d start getting better. Her colds were kind of funny like that.

“How are you feeling?” He closed the Bible and put a hand on her forehead. Seemingly satisfied with results he pulled his hand away to cover a yawn.

“I’m okay.” I smiled. “Come to bed, you need some sleep.”

Jonathan stood up and offered his wife his hand. She took it and they crawled into bed. Ivy curled up next to his warm body noting that it felt warmer than usual. She blamed it on her own illness. Ivy fell asleep just as quickly as she had that night, grateful for a night of peace with no nightmares.

Jonathan climbed out of bed at 6:00. He should have headed out an hour ago, but he still hadn’t had any sleep. Even now he’d only gotten about half an hour of more sleep, for a grand total of 50 minutes. Today would be along day and he already had a headache forming.

He grabbed some breakfast and pulled on his boots. He checked on Ivy one more time before he left and headed out to the barn to start the morning chores. It would be a laborious day. Bales of hay needed to be loaded and unloaded across the acres of land they had.

His stable boy, James, was still on out of town and would not be there to help Jonathan today. Leaving all the work for him. He wished Ivy’s parents had stayed another week, his father-in-law would have loved to help.

That evening Jonathan was almost finished when he saw the storm rolling in out of nowhere. A sigh of frustration escaped him. He felt horrible. His head felt like it was about to split open. He hadn’t stopped to eat lunch for fear on not getting enough done, so he felt weak and shaky. The windows in his truck were gone and he only had a few more bales to more, he was going to get soaked and there was no way around it.

He finished the last bit of work quickly. He hoped that by some miracle he could beat out the rain, but as he unloaded the last bale of hay the skies opened up and released their freezing cold rain on him. He climbed into the truck and drove home immediately regretting not having called it a day an hour ago. The rain felt like it was coming in the truck side ways, he could barely see the muddy dirt road in front of him. By the time he reached the house he was completely soaked and shivering uncontrollably.

Jonathan wished he could have snuck into the house and changed before Ivy had noticed, but he should’ve known better. He was late for dinner and with the storm she’d been worried. She must’ve heard the door open because she was at his side in moments.

“I’m so glad you’re safe! I’ll warm up dinner for you. Go get changed out of your wet clothes.” Her voice had gotten hoarse. Her cold must have gotten worse throughout the day.

“No, just sit down and rest. I’m not very hungry right this minute anyway.” He couldn’t keep his teeth from chattering. He hadn’t noticed the temperature drop outside, but it had drop quickly.

“You didn’t eat lunch. You need to eat something.” Ivy was already in the kitchen warming up the chicken in the oven.

He made his way through the kitchen and down the hall. He could hear her sneezing from across the house as he changed into dry sweat pants and a baggy sweatshirt.

“Bless you, Love.” He found her sitting on the couch with a tissue clutched in her hands in front of her face, just waiting. He watched her eyes flutter and her chest rise and fall as her breath rapidly hitched waiting for the sneeze to just come. He couldn’t help but suppress a laugh. His poor wife looked so miserable and adorable at the same time. His heart ached because he couldn’t fix it. Now that he thought about it everything ached... It was a hard day of labor for him. His body could handle it, but today had been an off day.

“Hitcheiw! Heitchiew! hehe...hitcheiw! Ugh!” She blew her nose and coughed a few chesty harsh coughs. Jonathan went to the kitchen and filled up a glass of water for her and took the plate of food she had prepared for him.

“Thank you.” She smiled as she turned her attention back to the book. Jonathan looked at the food. He really was not hungry, but Ivy had made him dinner and so he was going to eat it. He didn’t feel sick or anything just not hungry. To be honest, all he really wanted to do was go to bed. James still wouldn’t be back tomorrow to help him with the ranch. He forced down his dinner and tried to suppress a yawn, but Ivy noticed anyway.

“Hard day?” She cleared her throat a little and closed her book.

“Yeah, just a little tired.” Jonathan still hadn’t been able to stop shivering, but they weren’t as noticeable to others now. However, Ivy was very observant and noticed like she always does.

“Are you still cold?” She asked as she scooted closer to him on the couch.

“Just a chill, I’m fine.” Jonathan put on the best face he could, and he didn’t know why. Ivy knew him to well anyway. He mine as well admit, that he is exhausted, can’t get warm, has a major headache, and is really starting to get achy from the long day of work.

Ivy was about to put her hand on his forehead to check for a fever when she sneezed out of nowhere. She had just enough time to turn away from him and sneeze openly towards the floor for the first sneeze, before should could cover the others.

“Hitchiew! hEITCHEIW! HieTCIehw! HETCHIEW...hihh...hehthh. HETCHIEW!!” Jonathan stood up and grabbed her some tissues and handed them to her. Using her fit as a distraction to try and get away from her focus on him and onto her.

“I did go into town and get you some cold medicine. It’s out in the truck let me go get it.” Jonathan had walked to the door and started putting his boots on when Ivy came up from behind him and placed a hand on his forehead.

“No fever, looks like you’re story is legit. You don’t need to go to the truck now though. It’s pouring rain and you just got warm.” Ivy didn’t look convinced that he wasn’t sick, but her palor skin had sent alarms through Jonathan and he was out the door in moments to get her the medicine. There was a momentary break in the rain. He went into the kitchen and gave Ivy a dose of the medicine and told her to go ahead and head to bed and that he’d be there soon. She looked skeptical, but she yawned and conceded to head to bed. Jonathan hoped a warm shower would help him warm up, but the hot water did nothing but draw to his attention how congested his head felt... Denial! He didn’t have time to be sick right now.