Page 37 of Bear With Me

She raised a doubtful eyebrow. "Bjorn said you fell out of bed."

"Fell?!" Dennis exclaimed, offended at the implication. "I was pushed! Every time Bjorn shifts, I get shoved to the floor." Was it rude to point that out to the guy's grandmother? Maybe, but still, it was the principle of the thing; he didn't just fall out of bed randomly like a toddler!

"Oh, dear," said Ginevra. "I hadn't thought about how much more space a bear takes up." She sighed, peeking through her lashes at Dennis. "Well, there's not much to be done about that until he can control his shift again."

Was that a hint? He thought it had been a hint. Dennis felt his natural contrariness rise again. Had he been having soft feelings about Bjorn before his shower? Had he really been considering this mates thing just because everyone he encountered seemed to feel it was a foregone conclusion? Biting back a sharp retort, because it wasn't Gran's fault that he was in this situation, he just shrugged. "Guess not."

Bjorn, who had been watching them converse, chose that moment to cut in. "Dennis? Are scrambled eggs and bacon ok with you?"

"Oh." He looked over at the other man and found him hovering with a frying pan in his hands. "Yes, that's fine." This wasn't Bjorn's fault, either, he reminded himself. He was just as fucked by this situation as Dennis was. He managed a small smile for Bjorn. "Thank you for cooking."

Bjorn shrugged. "We need to eat, and I certainly wasn't going to let Gran or a guest handle it." He scooped a mound of eggs onto the plate in front of Dennis, then added a few strips of bacon. "I can make more if you want it."

Suddenly ravenous at the smell of the food, Dennis just nodded before digging in. The food was shockingly good, or maybe he was just that hungry. "S'good," he managed through a full mouth, nodding again at Bjorn, who relaxed and grinned.

"Oh, good," Bjorn said, drawing a hand across his forehead in a dramatic phew gesture. "Gran, Dennis and I need to run some errands this morning. Can I call someone to come sit with you? The healer, maybe?"

"Oh, pooh," scoffed Gran. "I'll be fine on my own." Then, as if to expose the weakness in her own argument, she fell into a coughing fit.

Bjorn reached over and gently gave her back a pat. "Yeah, no," he said as she straightened up and started trying to catch her breath. "We're not leaving you alone. It's either the healer or someone else from the den, take your pick."

She scowled, and Dennis was glad that cutting look wasn't aimed at him. "I am an adult woman who's been living on her own for more than a decade, young man."

Bjorn didn't quail in the face of her protest. "And now you're an adult woman who's got pneumonia and needs to stay in bed except during meals." He pulled his phone out of his pocket and shook it at her. "Who am I calling?"

Ginevra grumbled, but eventually said, "You can call Fi, I suppose. But tell her she doesn't have to come!"

"Not telling her that," Bjorn sing-songed as he dialed the phone. "Hi, Healer. I was wondering if you're free to come sit with Gran this morning while Dennis and I run some errands." A pause. "Oh, great, thank you. We're leaving at eight, but I don't think you need to be here right that second, if you need a bit more time."

Across the table from Dennis, Ginevra grumbled some more, too low for him to make out the words, then raised her voice so it carried to the phone: "You don't need to come at all, Fi!"

He could hear the healer's scoff from two seats away, and he suppressed a smirk. Bjorn and the healer exchanged a few more words, and then Bjorn hung up. "She'll be here around eight-fifteen. And you won't complain, right?" Silence. "Right, Gran?"

She huffed, but nodded. Looking relieved, Bjorn put down his phone and picked up his fork to start working on his breakfast. Dennis, who had finished his eggs during the phone call, leaned back in his chair and rested his hands on his stomach. "That was great, Bjorn. Thank you for cooking." A self-conscious blush stole across Bjorn's face as he chewed.

Why was he so enchanted by that? Dennis chose not to think too hard about the answer to that. Nothing good could come from it.

***

They regrouped that afternoon, back at Gran's house. Gran and the healer were in a shouting match when they walked in, and Dennis winced and glanced at Bjorn, who seemed remarkably unperturbed by the screaming women. Catching Dennis's look, Bjorn shrugged. "This is how they relate."

And these women were best friends? Yeah, that wasn't weird at all. "Ooookay," he drawled.

Bjorn slammed the front door behind them and announced loudly, "Gran! We're back!"

The arguing abruptly stopped. "Bjorn, honey," Ginevra called sweetly, "come into the bedroom and tell this woman to stop trying to poison me!"

Fiona scoffed. "It's herbal tea, you whiny old woman. It'll make your throat feel better."

Dennis and Bjorn exchanged another look and then walked together into the bedroom, where they found Gran sitting up against her pillows, glaring at her friend while her friend glared back at her. "So I see today went well," Bjorn said calmly, bending down to kiss his grandmother's forehead. "Drink the tea, Gran."

She let out a loud harrumph, but accepted the mug and took a demonstrative sip. "There, happy?"

"Overjoyed," the healer said dryly, and Bjorn nodded his agreement. "Well," Fiona said, patting her thighs and standing up, "I'll leave you folks alone now. Delightful to see you as always, Ginny."

Ginevra, who was now chugging her tea like she hadn't had any liquids all day and had never claimed it was poison, waved a hand graciously. "Come by tomorrow," she said between sips. "I'll have Bjorn cook something for us to have for lunch."

"Sure, Gran," Bjorn agreed easily. "Maybe some stew in the crockpot, if I get up early enough."