DCW: I Was So Worried...

Writers: Eimi, Rochelle
Date Posted: 10th June 2007

Characters: R'mer, B'ram, Eleada, Adaric
Description: Aradic is returned to his mother.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 3, day 19 of Turn 4
Notes: Follows "Find Him!"

B'ram

Eleada paced restlessly in the hallway outside her weyr, waiting for
more news but not daring to ask Gliorith to quiz Hanunth on his rider's
whereabouts. She'd directed R'mer via Gliorith and Hanunth to bring
Adaric to her weyr since she didn't think he knew where C'radan lived,
but she needed to see them _now_. She should have gone after him even
after R'mer stopped her. Where was he? Was Adaric okay? Gliorith said
so, and had dutifully passed the message on to Nibelunth and the rest of
her family in C'radan's weyr, but she needed to see him. Was he really
all right?

**I'm such a horrible mother!** She despaired to Gliorith. **I should
have kept looking for him -I never should have let this happen!**

}:How?:{ Gliorith asked testily. She'd been on edge from her rider's
nerves and since well before the hurricane reached shore. }:You had to
be with Hasaarth and Nyith's. You could not be there too.:{

Frustrated and guilty, she flung open the door to her weyr and began
pacing around the rug instead, trying to beat the gnawing worry and
lingering panic -not to mention the guilt- out of her system through
motion.

Just when she thought she was going to wear a hole in the rug the door was

flung open again. "Mama!" a soaked Adaric cried as he ran towards her.
R'mer leaned against the doorjam, glad to see Eleada hadn't done anything
foolish.

"Adaric! You're safe!" She pounced on her son, falling to her knees and
sweeping into her arms and not caring that he was drenched and smelled
of seawater. He was alive, really alive...

"The water came in so fast!" He buried his head into his mother's
shoulder. "I was really scared."

"It's all right." She said automatically into his hair, hugging him
fiercely. "You're safe now. But if you _ever_ do that again, I'll..."
She gave up trying to come up with a suitable threat, and contented
herself with holding her son as tightly as she could without crushing
him.

R'mer shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. He was glad
that he had been able to bring her peace of mind, but at the same time
he felt suddenly out of place, like he was intruding on their private
family moment. "I think I should go see where else they need help..."

Eleada released her son long enough to climb to her feet again, and
before R'mer could move found himself in a grateful embrace, Adaric
still caught in Eleada's arms and almost squashed between them. "Thank
you, R'mer." She whispered in his ear. "Thank you for saving him."

A shiver shook his spine as he reached out to hug her back, though if it
was from his wet clothes or the way her breath had tickled his ear he
wasn't sure. A slight smile touched his lips and he could feel his
chest swell with pride. He had _saved_ Adaric. Something about that
sounded so... heroic... He wondered if she thought so too... "I'm just
glad your family is safe."

"Thank you." She repeated one least time, and pulled away with a
grateful smile. "Get in here then. You're both soaking wet. I'll get
some towels for you to dry off. Would you like to stay here, at least
until the rain passes?" She asked anxiously, not really sure what she
should be saying. Except this was R'mer, and he had saved her son. He
deserved something.

"That might be a while..." he said, following her into her room
hopefully.

"Well, you can stay as long as you want." She said firmly. "Let's get
you two dry first." She dove into her bathing chamber, and emerged a
second later with a pile of towels. Now that she had Adaric back, she
was extremely reluctant to have him out of her sight again. She kneeled
to wrap her shivering son in one and handed a particularly large one to
R'mer, then paused. "I'm sorry I don't have anything for you to change
into, unless you want to borrow my robe?"

"I'll just take off my shirt, if you don't mind lending me a blanket."
R'mer didn't really want to wear a woman's robe, especially not in front
of her. It would be a bit... embarrassing.

She smiled. "Of course." She assured him as brushed the wet hair out of
Adaric's eyes and kissed his forehead. She gave her son another squeeze
-which promptly caused him to squirm- and went to fetch a spare blanket
out of the dresser for R'mer. "Go ahead and strip. Adaric, I've got a
change that you left here a few visits ago, just let me pull it out."

As R'mer stripped out of his wet shirt he heard the main door open.
"Eleada?" a red-haired rider called as he walked through the door.
"Adaric! Thank Faranth you're safe!" the brownrider sighed, reaching
out to give the boy a firm hug. "You must have worried your poor mother
to death, lad! Where is she? Eleada?"

"B'ram?" Eleada returned from the sleeping chambers with a blanket in
her arms, looking bewildered to see her son in the arms of the
brownrider.

"Eleada," B'ram sighed, releasing the boy. He wrapped his arms around
the greenrider, and to R'mer's horror gave her a passionate kiss.
"Shards, I was so worried," the brownrider said softly as he released
her. "I went to your brother's weyr and they told me about Adaric and I
was afraid you might go down to find him."

Eleada flushed, thrown off balance by the kiss. But why was she the only
one who thought that she had every right to go after her son? "I did go
after him." She admitted, for Adaric's sake. Her son was clutching the
towel tightly around himself and watching B'ram with the blank face that
only a child can achieve when watching their mother kissing a near
stranger. "But R'mer found him."

The brownrider finally noticed the shirtless young man, flushed in face
and fingering the hem of his shirt. **Shards, R'mer... What did you
expect?...**

"Good work, lad," B'ram smiled, reaching a hand out to him. "Thank you.
I know Eleada must have been beside herself."

R'mer took it uneasily, but he mustered a small smile, though he barely
met the brownrider's eye. "You're Adaric's father, then?"

"Me? Oh no... I'm... I'm a friend of his mothers." B'ram really
wasn't sure what to categorize himself as. Friend worked.

The young bronzerider knew "friend" had a rather broad meaning in the
Weyr. He tried not to look hurt as he turned back to Eleada. "I
think... Thank you for your offer, but it seems there is a lot of work
yet to do. I'd better be sure that I'm not needed elsewhere."

Eleada frowned, wondering what was going through R'mer's mind to back
out after accepting her invitation to stay. And yet... he was right,
there was a lot to be done still. "If you're sure, then. And thank you
_so_ much for finding Adaric for me!" She added fervently.

The bronzerider slipped his arms back through the sleeves of his soaked
shirt. It felt even colder than before. "I was just doing my duty,
ma'am." The honorific was out before he could even give it a second
thought, and he flinched inwardly. He didn't have a right to feel this
way. He _knew_ that. R'mer _knew_ he had no right to feel the sense of
betrayal gripping his heart. But he just couldn't stop it. "Good day,"
he muttered as he strode purposefully towards the door. Shards, he
wished he could just jump on Hanunth's back and fly home. Fly home
where things made sense, and women didn't have 'friends', and he didn't
know the first thing about women or flirting or all complications they
brought. But R'mer knew was trapped. He was trapped by the cold stone,
rising waters and the harsh winds. But more than that he was ensnared
by the title "Dragonrider of Pern", and like it or not, he knew he was
sentenced to this prison for life.

Last updated on the June 21st 2007

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DCW: I Was So Worried...