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Isaac had seen her conjure a cloth the other day in his shop, when she was upset. He rocked onto the balls of his feet, wanting to move as his fear grew. Each second that Isabella didn’t get on with it felt like an eternity, but he plastered a pleasant look on his face and waited.
“Jack arrived with Meredith,” Isabella finally continued. “We waited, and I kept expecting to see Kate. I was sure she would come any second.” Isabella spoke in a rush, like if she pushed the words out quickly enough everything would be alright. She continued to wind the cloth around her fingers until their tips went white.
Reece must have noticed as he laid one hand over Isabella’s and gently loosened the cloth.
When Isabella didn’t say anything more, Isaac opened his mouth to ask where Kate was when Reece spoke up. “Kate managed to flash here, but she was hurt,” he said. “She’s in the back of the room with Jack.”
A part of Isaac wanted to rush to Kate and another part of him was afraid that seeing her hurt again would shred him.
While that war raged within him, he turned to Isabella. “Thank you for looking out for Kate.”
She nodded and turned back into Reece’s side.
Isaac knew there was only one choice for him to make, no matter how terrified he was. Turning around, he walked toward the back of the room. He didn’t flash and he didn’t rush, needing the time to calm himself. With a normal stride, he took in everything in front of him.
Kate lay on top of a table that was pushed against the wall. Jack was bent over her still form, his hands pressed against her side. Fiona stood to the side, holding one of Kate’s limp hands.
When Isaac was only a few feet away, he noticed Kate’s shirt was charred and hanging open, exposing the skin just above her waist.
“Oh, Isaac, honey. Good thing you’re here,” Fiona said as she picked up his hand and put Kate’s into it and took a step to the side. On instinct, Isaac enclosed Kate’s hand in both of his.
Careful not to disturb Jack, Isaac bent over Kate, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Her skin was cool against his lips. Instinctively, he pushed warmth into her.
“Thanks,” Jack said, his head bowed and his eyes closed.
Isaac was continually surprised by Jack, and thankful the strength of his magic could heal Kate.
Another eternity passed by in the next few minutes as Isaac waited for Jack to finish healing Kate. Then, like he’d done in her shop the week before, Jack passed his hand over Kate, and her eyes fluttered open.
“I’ll give you two a minute,” he said and walked away.
Fiona kissed Kate on the forehead. “Stop scaring me,” she scolded her daughter, but there wasn’t any heat in her words. She squeezed Isaac’s shoulder and headed to the other side of the room.
“Oh, shit! Not again,” Kate groaned as she pushed up onto her elbows and looked around the room.
Isaac felt as if he could read her thoughts in that moment, or maybe he just knew her well. Kate hated having the attention on her in what she would consider a moment of personal weakness. What she didn’t realize was that she was anything but weak. Within the last three weeks, she’d been attacked twice, once brutally, and she’d had her mind controlled.
She slid off the table and started to keel to the left. He flung his hands out to steady her.
“Please,” he said quietly as he moved in front of her and pushed her back until her butt rested on the edge of the table for support. “Please,” he said again, a pleading in his voice. “Let me be here for you. I need to support you. Will you allow me to do this just this once?”
Her eyes met his, her face still pale. She opened her mouth and he feared she was going to reject him. Then she closed her mouth and made an almost imperceptible nod. He was almost afraid to think about how physically weak she must be if she was willing to give in so easily. He wanted to give her more than just physical support, but he’d take that for now.
Adopting the same position as her, leaning his ass on the edge of the table, he reached for her hips and gently guided her in front of him. When she leaned back on him, allowing him to hold her, he felt like he’d been given a gift. Loosely, he wrapped his arms around her, and she rested her hands on top of his.
“Thank you,” he whispered quietly. She squeezed his hand in acknowledgment and that was enough for now.
Finally looking at the others in the room, he saw all eyes were on them, something Kate hated. At least now there was something more he could do to help her. “Isabella,” he said, raising his voice above the soft din in the room. “Could you explain what happened?”
“Sure. Kate and I?—”
“Isabella,” Meredith said, interrupting, “Before you get into it, why doesn’t everyone grab a chair and get comfortable. As you can see, the two rooms have been joined and the chairs and tables pushed aside to make room for everyone to flash here. We didn’t want anyone flashing on top of a table, but there’s no need to be uncomfortable.”
Isaac appreciated that Meredith made it possible for him to get Kate to sit without signaling her out.
Before he could even let go of Kate to get some chairs, Damon had brought two over. He gave Kate’s shoulder a squeeze, perhaps a gesture he’d learned from their mother, but he didn’t say anything. Something Isaac was happy about. In a moment, Kate would have more attention than she wanted.
There was some shuffling and moving about as tables and chairs were rearranged. It gave Isaac the perfect opportunity to get Kate off her feet. But instead of using the chairs Damon brought by, Isaac pushed a bit of magic into his legs and, using the extra strength, he hopped backward onto the table, pulling her with him.
