Take Care Bear sat on a log in her and Indy’s secret reading spot: a clearing in the Forest of Feelings where four trees had fallen into a nearly perfect square. Take Care had her nose in the fourth Harry Potter book. She had left Get Well to do the paperwork again, some might have seen that as cruel but Get Well had to get used to filling out paperwork. Take Care smirked, plus it was nice to get a break from the tedium of paperwork, even she had her limits.
Something else was nagging at Take Care’s mind. She bookmarked the page and set the book aside then reached into her tummy symbol and pulled out the datapad that contained her letter from the future. She’d been mulling it over in her mind if she should watch the message after seeing the changes in some of the recipients, especially since Pace and Hugs had started dating; it was all Regal and Stellar could talk about now. Would it be a warning? A message? Reassurance? Take Care sighed, only one way to find out.
She pushed play.
Future Take Care sat her medical desk in the ship’s sick bay facing the camera. She looked like she was deep in thought before she finally spoke. “Take Care, this is you from the future. I know this is ridiculous, maybe even crazy, but if this works then there are some important things I need to tell you. First, about Get Well: don’t worry about her. I’ve seen her struggle here every day as we have to treat minor and major injuries, even a few minor disease outbreaks that accidentally snuck through cargo we stole and she had handled them all very well,” she smiled, “Get Well is going to be a fantastic doctor, I know you’re proud of her already but she’s never going to stop making you proud. I just wish Cautious were here to see it…” She rubbed her eyes, “But that’s not all. In this future, Bright Heart, Slippy and I have developed a Nanite Healing chamber that can fix all but the most grievous wounds, it might even be able to rebuild lost limbs if it’s adjusted right. Talk to them about it and see if you can build one; they should have the blueprints from their own future letters.”
Take Care thought the message would be over, but her future self held up a hand, “There’s one more thing, something very important to you. It’s about Independent Bear.”
Future Take Care took a deep breath before she continued, “His death hit me hard. At first I tried to just roll it into the loss of everyone else in my life: Noble Heart, Gentle Heart…Cautious Heart…and I still miss them. But every now and then I find myself thinking about Indy and…I just break down and have to hide in my office for an hour or two until I calm down. The more I think about it the more I realize that Indy was my best friend. I know Gentle Heart is our best friend too and Bright Heart but…there was always this awkward air hanging in the background of my mind. I was, and still am, their big sister and technically I rank just above Tenderheart and Brave Heart in the command structure,” she shook her head, “I’ve been on this ship too long. But with that in mind, they still look up to me and remember me as someone who looked after them when they were cubs, and Noble Heart was the father I never had. Even with Get Well and Cautious I was their mother. I was alone in my position with no one I could really feel 100% comfortable around, until I met Indy.
“I remember the first time we met, he was hurling up black sludge after nearly being suffocated by Dusk Heart. Then he was able to recover from his injuries without my help in the hospital, evacuation notwithstanding. As I got to know him I felt like I could actually be friends on equal footing with someone in my life, for once, because he was already an adult. I didn’t need to raise him so he didn’t look up to me as a big sister, and with the way the Magi work in our family he wasn’t under my authority, except when it came to medicine. When I found out he was a book lover and he found my secret reading spot, it felt right somehow. I never realized, back in your time, how important having a friend like him was for me. Then there was the hypothermia incident and how he helped look after me, and probably saved my life.” Future Take Care smiled for a moment, then sighed as her face fell.
“Get Well thinks I was in love with him but I don’t know… He’s dead. Nothing can change that and there’s no point in my dwelling on the potential for anything that can’t happen anymore. I have things to do and people to keep alive, or to convince to undergo mental health treatment they desperately need. But when I heard about this time travel idea,” she shook her head, “I didn’t think it would amount to anything at first, but then I found myself thinking: can I really afford to pass up this chance? I don’t know how I feel now, other than desperate, but you…You have the time and the chance to explore this. I’m not saying ‘run off to be with him’, I’m not letting my life turn into a crappy romance novel,” Future Take Care rolled her eyes, “but at least think about it while you can, maybe something will happen maybe it won’t, but I can tell you that you will regret it if you don’t at least try to think about how you really feel, because I regret it more each day.
“Good bye, and good luck in stopping Armageddon.” The image held on Future Take Care for another 30 seconds before the screen finally went black.
Take Care stared at the black screen for a minute then set the datapad down on top of her book. What her future self had said rang true in her mind. What was her relationship with Indy? They were friends, yes, but how deep did that run? The more she thought about it the more she agreed with her future self’s assessment, Indy’s friendship did feel more important to her because they had met and got to know each other as adults. And then there was the hypothermia incident from two years ago. She hadn’t thought about it in months but now it all came rushing back to her, both her own personal recollection and what Indy, Bright Heart and Cautious Heart had told her afterwards…
OoOoO
Epidemics in the Kingdom of Caring were the bane of Take Care’s existence, especially when bad weather forced her to make house calls. Take Care had just seen to Gentle Heart more as a precaution than anything. Gentle Heart had been very susceptible to any illness that hit the Kingdom even as a cub so Take Care made it a habit to check on her whenever there was any sort of outbreak, just in case. Fortunately, Gentle Heart had avoided this particular epidemic so Take Care just told her to stay put until it passed.
Take Care trudged through the heavy rain in her bright yellow raincoat and hat with her doctor’s bag in hand wrapped in a plastic sheath to keep the rain off. She felt a buzzing in her tummy symbol and sighed before she reached under her raincoat and pulled out her heartphone. A text from Feral Heart was on screen: “ROYAL HEART AND JOYFUL HEART ARE SICK! COME NOW PLEASE!”
Take Care put the heartphone back in her symbol and changed direction. After Royal Heart’s premature birth, Feral Heart had been nervous about her son’s health; this became even more of a problem when she and Brave Heart decided to have another child. Joyful Heart Liger, thankfully, had been born safely but that didn’t stop Feral from constantly worrying, and the girl wasn’t even a year old yet. Even so, Take Care had to take this seriously; she knew Feral would never let them out in the rain if they were sick. This would make Take Care’s fifteenth house call today, and the rain hadn’t let up for a moment.
Take Care shivered as she approached the cave the couple called home, she hadn’t had a proper chance to dry off at each stop, not to mention the temperature was dropping and the wind kept blowing the rain into her face and under her coat. Then it started to snow, though Take Care was too focused on getting to the door inside the cave’s mouth to notice.
Both Royal Heart Liger and Joyful Heart Liger had the flu, but thankfully it was in the early stages. She gave each of them antibiotics then gave the panicking Feral Heart Tigress some medicine for her cubs and to keep them in bed as long as she could and not to overfeed them or it would all come back up. It all took less than five minutes before Take Care was back outside, still soaked to the skin.
She groaned as soon as she saw the snow that had started to pile up while she was inside. She should have expected this, especially so late in autumn and at night. She looked back over her shoulder at the door inside the mouth of the cave, then forwards, despite the weather she had to get home.
The snow only piled up higher and the wind hadn’t abated, Take Care began to trudge once it was up past her ankles, shivering under her raincoat, but she could see her home and hospital straight ahead, just past the edge of the Forest of Feelings. She pushed on and on despite the cold until she had her hand on the doorknob. She pushed it open, almost toppling forwards then forcing the door shut behind her. She would have called out for Cautious Heart, but she had gone for a sleepover at Swift Heart and Grumpy Bear’s house, which meant the hospital was empty. She missed the coat rack with her raincoat and hat and stumbled forwards a few steps. Why was she still so cold?
Take Care dropped to her knees then fell forwards as she shivered and her world went black.
OoOoO
Indy was asleep when stray thoughts began to assault his mind. It felt so very cold, and tired, and alone…
His eyes shot open and he jumped out of bed, “Take Care!” He pulled on his longcoat and opened the door to his house, only to be greeted by a snowstorm. It only took him a moment to pull on his winter coat and boots and he was plunging into the snowstorm, doing up a scarf as he walked. For once he wished he didn’t live so deep in the Forest of Feelings, but he liked his solitude.
Take Care’s door burst open then slammed shut as Indy all but forced his way inside. He didn’t even bother to take off his winter clothing when he saw Take Care lying on the floor. He was at her side in an instant as he checked her pulse and breathing, basic first aid training all the Magi had been required to learn. Her body was cold and soaked through the fur right to the skin and her breathing was shallow. Starting to panic, Indy took off his winter coat and lay it over her like a blanket before he fished out his heartphone and dialed Bright Heart’s number.
Bright Heart had been about to go to sleep when he heard his phone ringing. He gave an apologetic look to Gentle Heart as he looked and saw Indy’s name on the phone. Indy almost never called anyone so it had to be important.
“Hello?”
“Bright Heart! It’s Indy, I’m at Take Care’s! I found her collapsed right inside the door and she cold and barely breathing! Get over here now I need your help!”
Bright Heart almost dropped his phone in shock then turned and bolted for the door.
Gentle Heart followed him and found him putting on his winter coat and boots at the front door. “Bright Heart, what’s wrong?”
“Take Care’s hurt, I have to go.” Bright Heart finished zipping up his coat.
“I’ll come too,” Gentle Heart grabbed for her own coat from the closet.
Bright Heart was all too aware of just how susceptible Gentle Heart was to extreme conditions, but he didn’t have time to argue. “Alright, just make sure you’re bundled up before you follow me.” He darted outside while Gentle Heart was still getting dressed.
Indy was fidgeting as he waited for Bright Heart to show up; he nearly jumped out of his skin as Bright Heart stepped in. The raccoon took one look at Take Care and pulled the jacket off her.
“What’s wrong with her?” Indy had to hold himself back from helping, not that he knew what to do.
Bright Heart only had to check her for a moment before he gave his diagnosis, “Hypothermia. We need to warm her up before it gets worse.”
“OK, so what do we do? Build a fire? Make a hot bath?” Indy did his best to restrain his breathing.
Bright Heart shook his head, “No, we have to warm her up slowly. The blood in her arms and legs has become very cold and if it circulates too quickly back to her heart it will send her into cardiac arrest. We have to dry her off then put her to bed and pack the blankets around her so her body will slowly warm itself up, but it could take days and we have to avoid jostling her or the cold blood could rush back to her heard.” Bright Heart was trying to devise a way to do this when Indy held out his hands.
“I can do that.” Indy concentrated and then Take Care slowly levitated off the floor. Bright Heart just stared for a moment, then ran off to grab towels from the bathroom.
Bright Heart had just finished drying off Take Care’s fur when Gentle Heart entered, quickly shutting the door behind her. “What’s happening?”
“She has hypothermia,” Bright Heart said as he finished toweling off Take Care’s head, “Now take her to her bedroom, slowly.”
Indy nodded and levitated Take Care slowly into her bedroom, with Bright Heart rushing ahead to open the door for them. Indy had to carefully rotate Take Care onto her back then put her limbs by her sides before he set her on her bed. Gentle Heart pulled back the covers then she and Bright Heart carefully wrapped her up in the blankets until only her face was exposed.
“How did this happen? She was on her feet an hour ago,” Gentle Heart clutched Bright Heart’s hand.
“She likely worked herself into an adrenaline rush while she was making house calls, then the snow hit and as soon as she got home and felt safer it ended and she crashed.” Bright Heart said, “I’ll have to look after the hospital until she’s up and around. If she’s not awake by tomorrow then I’ll have to try warming her intravenously.”
“I’ll keep an eye on her,” Indy left to grab a chair from the kitchen.
“We can sleep on the couch tonight,” Gentle Heart pulled Bright Heart into the living room as Indy returned with a chair from the kitchen.
OoOoO
Take Care felt hot and cold at the same time, sweaty yet shivering. She was packed in around by blankets and she opened her eyes to se the familiar ceiling of her bedroom; the smell of coffee assaulted her nostrils.
Indy finished off his latest cup of coffee when he saw that Take Care was awake, “you’re finally awake, good.”
“What happened?” Take Care tried to raise her arm despite it feeling like a leaden weight only for Indy to put out a hand to hold her arm still.
“You collapsed, hypothermia. Bright Heart’s looking after the hospital.” Indy sat back down and yawned.
“How long have you been up?” Take Care asked.
“About 14 hours, after I got up in the middle of the night,” Indy yawned.
“You need to get shome shleep. Go home.” Take Care tried her best to sound authoritative, but it was undermined by her slurred speech.
“Mom!” Cautious Heart Cat suddenly appeared at the door followed by Bright Heart wearing a doctor’s coat. “They told me what happened. Are you alright?”
Take Care couldn’t help but smile. “I’ll be fine, kiddo, jusht worry about yourshelf.”
“Open up,” Bright Heart lowered a thermometer to Take Care’s mouth. She begrudgingly opened and let him take her temperature. “33 Celsius, you’re going to be down for a few days. I’ll call Get Well and-”
“No!” Take Care’s shout made them jump, “don’t pull her out, shee needsh to shtudy.”
“All right,” Bright Heart said, “Just lie there and I’ll look after anyone who comes in.”
“I’ll go make something you can eat then,” Cautious Heart stood up then turned to Indy.
Indy’s eyes were drooping even after all the coffee he’d ingested so Cautious Heart hauled him up, “You can sleep in my sister’s room.”
Take Care listened to them leave then stared at the ceiling. With nothing else she could do she eventually drifted off to sleep.
A knock on her bedroom room woke Take Care up. Indy entered carrying a colorful bowl with a spout and handle in his hands, “Hey, I thought you could use something to eat.”
“Now that you mention it, I could use something. What is that?” Take Care asked.
“Chicken noodle soup, and I used my tummy symbol to make this bowl to avoid spilling.” Indy pulled up the chair he had brought in earlier and sat down, carefully lifting up her head and tilting the spout into Take Care’s mouth.
Despite the awkwardness, Take Care was grateful for something to eat. Indy eased off whenever she needed a breath and they kept going until it was all gone.
“Thanks. It was good,” Take Care said as Indy lowered her head back onto the pillow.
Indy chuckled, “It was just instant soup mix I found in the cupboard. Feeling better?”
“Still cold, and tired.” Take Care sighed, “I hate being forced to lie here. At least when I had the flu I could get up on my own.”
Cautious Heart appeared at the door, “Let me know if you need to use the bathroom, mom.”
“I will,” Take Care answered.
“I have to clean up. I’ll be back later.” Indy stood up and left.
Cautious Heart watched as Indy let his spouted bowl disperse over the kitchen sink, dropping the last few traces of soup down the drain. “You don’t cook much, do you?”
Indy shook his head, “I just eat at the Hall of Hearts most days. Anger Heart even volunteered to take my cooking shifts after what happened the first time I tried…”
Cautious Heart shuddered. No one would be able to forget what happened that day, especially not after everyeone spent all night cleaning up. “Sounds like you need a few pointers.”
“Can you teach me?” Indy asked as he ran some soapy water through the pot and watches it.
“I can teach you the basics, someone else will have to teach you more,” Cautious Heart walked over to the fridge and examined the contents.
“Anger Heart or Grams probably,” Indy said. “so what first?”
“Spaghetti,” Cautious Heart grabbed a box of pasta from a cupboard.
OoOoO
Take Care had Cautious Heart help her to the bathroom and back. She felt better but wasn’t tired enough to sleep again. Indy entered shortly thereafter with a mug of hot liquid and a thermometer.
“Here,” Indy offered the thermometer to Take Care, who accepted. “35 degrees Celcius, still at the hypothermia level.”
“Great,” Take Care grumbled after the thermometer was removed, “How much longer do I have to lie here?”
“A few more days,” Indy said, “Bright Heart told me enough to look after you. Here,” he offered the mug, “Hot apple cider.”
Take Care managed to push herself up enough to accept the mug though she couldn’t risk handling it herself. She sipped it slowly, so as not to burn her tongue. She lay back down once the mug was empty, “So back to the lie down then.” She sighed.
Indy picked up Take Care’s heartphone from where she had put it on the dresser earlier. Take Care didn’t notice until he found a piece of music and pushed play. “I’ll be back shortly.”
Aren't you something to admire, 'cause your shine is something like a mirror And I can't help but notice, you reflect in this heat of min If you ever feel alone and the glare makes me hard to find Just know that I'm always parallel on the other side
'Cause with your hand in my hand and a pocket full of soul I can tell you there's no place we couldn't go Just put your hand on the glass, I'm here trying to pull you through You just gonna be strong 'Cause I don't wanna lose you now
I'm looking right at the other half of me The vacancy that sat in my heart Is a space that now you hold Show me how to fight for now And I'll tell you, baby, it was easy Coming back into you once I figured it out You were right here all along
It's like you're my mirror My mirror staring back at me I couldn't get any bigger With anyone else beside of me And now it's clear as this promise That we're making two reflections into one It's like you're my mirror My mirror staring back at me, staring back at me
Aren't you something, an original, 'cause it doesn't seem merely assembled And I can't help but stare 'cause I see truth somewhere in your eyes I can't ever change without you, you reflect me, I love that about you And if I could, I would look at us all the time
'Cause with your hand in my hand and a pocket full of soul I can tell you there's no place we couldn't go Just put your hand on the past, I'm here trying to pull you through You just gotta be strong 'Cause I don't wanna lose you now
I'm looking right at the other half of me The vacancy that sat in my heat Is a space that now you hold Show me how to fight for now And I'll tell you, baby, it was easy Coming back into you once I figured it out You were right here all along
It's like you're my mirror My mirror staring back at me I couldn't get any bigger With anyone else beside of me And now it's clear as this promise That we're making two reflections into one It's like you're my mirror My mirror staring back at me, staring back at me
Yesterday is history Tomorrow's a mystery I can see you looking back at me Keep your eyes on me Baby, keep your eyes on me
'Cause I don't wanna lose you now I'm looking right at the other half of me The vacancy that sat in my heart Is a space that now you hold Show me how to fight for now And I'll tell you, baby, it was easy Coming back into you once I figured it out You were right here all along
It's like you're my mirror My mirror staring back at me I couldn't get any bigger With anyone else beside of me And now it's clear as this promise That we're making two reflections into one It's like you're my mirror My mirror staring back at me, staring back at me
It's like you're my mirror My mirror staring back at me
“Still a country fan.” The voice came from Noble Heart as he entered with Gentle Heart. “How are you feeling, Take Care.”
“Lousy and cold, but better than yesterday.” Take Care managed a weak smile.
“At least you’re better,” Gentle Heart leaned over the bed, “I was worried sick about you.”
“Better than being actually sick.” Take Care said.
“You didn’t have to check up on my yesterday if you were that cold,” Gentle Heart took a seat at the foot on Take Care’s bed.
“I couldn’t help it, I worry about you whenever something’s going around,” Take Care said.
Gentle Heart smiled, “Thank you.”
“Are you holding up alright?” Noble Heart asked.
“Other than the boredom,” Take Care sighed, “At least Indy’s keeping me company. Bright Heart hasn’t been too busy, has he?”
Noble Heart shook his head, “Your rounds the other day mostly cleared up everyone’s problems, Bright Heart just had to refill a couple prescriptions and that’s it really.”
“At least nothing else is going wrong,” Take Care sighed in relief.
OoOoO
Indy was browsing through Take Care’s library in her living room when Cautious Heart entered. “Looking for something to read?”
Indy didn’t even turn to look at her, “Something to read to Take Care. She’s bored just lying around in there.” He traced his hands over the Harry Potter books, “Maybe one of these…”
“I don’t think she’s going be down for that long,” Cautious Heart looked at the other end of the bookshelf and pulled out worn out book, “Try this.”
“Charlotte’s Web?” Indy looked up at Cautious Heart.
Cautious Heart grinned, “It’s only the greatest story ever. Mom read it to me and Get Well all the time when we were cubs, and apparently Noble Heart read it to her when she was a teenager… or did she just start reading it then?” Curious Heart’s eyes crossed for a moment.
Indy smiled and stood up, “Thanks.”
Noble Heart and Gentle Heart exited the room right as Indy approached. They exchanged quick greetings before Indy went to sit next to Take Care’s bed. “Enjoy their visit?”
“As much as I could, wrapped up in blankets. What’s that?” Take Care turned to see the book in Indy’s hand.
“Charlotte’s Web. Cautious Heart said it’s your favorite story.” Indy opened to the first page.
Take Care smiled and managed to settle down into the blankets a little more comfortably as Indy began to read.
OoOoO
Two days later Indy finished the story and checked Take Care’s temperature again. 37 Celsius and a more thorough examination showed that the cold blood in her limbs had warmed up enough for her to take a shower, that she was desperate for.
Take Care emerged from the shower feeling refreshed and much better than she had in days. Once she shoved her bedsheet and blankets into the washing machine she caught the smell of food from the kitchen.
She found Cautious Heart, Gentle Heart, Bright Heart, Noble Heart and Independent Bear in the kitchen, crowded around the dining table, where spaghetti, meatballs, tomato sauce and garlic bread were spread out.
“Feeling better?” Indy asked.
“Yes, very much.” Take Care took the last seat, “Did you cook this?”
“I did the spaghetti, Cautious did the rest,” Indy said.
“We just thought you could use a meal without needing to cook, mom,” Cautious said.
“Thank you, everyone.” Take Care scooped some spaghetti onto her plate and grabbed a slice of bread.
“So I assume you’re going right back to work,” Bright Heart said.
Take Care nodded then swallowed, “As soon as I finish dinner.”
“And get some sleep,” Gentle Heart took a smaller helping for herself, “You should at least sleep tonight before you go back to work.” The others at the table all added their agreement.
Take Care shook her head, “I can’t, not with the flu going around. I still need to be up and ready if anyone makes a call.”
Indy swallowed his own mouthful of spaghetti, “Everyone’s better or getting there and you need rest. Please, just take the rest of the day off.”
Take Care looked from Indy then back to Gentle Heart, who both gave her a pleading look. “Alright fine,” she relented, “But just until tomorrow.”
“Only if you’re feeling up to it,” Noble Heart said. Take Care just rolled her eyes and dug in to dinner.
OoOoO
Take Care smiled at the memories. That was the first time she remembered Indy going out of his way to help her. They had become much closer since then…
Her thoughts were interrupted the crunch on the forest floor of someone approaching. Indy walked into the clearing and stopped when he saw Take Care sitting on the log. She stashed her datapad in her tummy symbol, “Indy? I thought you were training with Futureheart.”
“I was, but I had to get away I just, Ennngggghhh!” Indy grabbed his right arm as it spasmed and his hand clenched and his arm shook.
“Indy!” Take Care jumped up to examine his arm as it finally calmed down, “What was that?”
“Spasms, I’ve been getting them for years,” Indy winced as Take Care forced him to sit down.
“Years?” Take Care was genuinely shocked, “Why didn’t you say anything? Wait…did you run away from your training?”
“I didn’t want anyone to worry, and yeah I had to run away.” Indy said.
Take Care sat down next to him, “Indy, what’s going on?”
Indy looked away for a moment, trying to avoid saying something. Then he looked back into her eyes and felt his resistance melt away. He couldn’t lie to her.
“It started shortly after I joined the Care Bear Family. At first it only happened every couple of months but by the time we defeated Dusk Heart it was happening once a month. I didn’t think much of it at first but it started getting more frequent, it was once a week before Starfox arrived and now… after my first training session yesterday it started happening every couple of hours.”
“Do you know why this is happening?” Take Care asked.
“It’s my psionic abilities.” Now that the spasm had passed, Indy leaned backwards with his arms supporting himself, “Ever since I accidentally almost killed Love Heart I’ve been suppressing my abilities, but they’ve kept growing. I’ve managed to keep it under control but I can feel the vast pool of psionic energy crashing against the dam I have holding it back.” Indy leaned forwards.
Take Care was doing her best to follow what he said, his dam metaphor allowed her to visualize the energy as a lake that was on the verge of overflowing a massive dam that held it back. “You should have told someone sooner; this could be serious. Aren’t Futureheart’s lessons helping?”
Indy hugged himself and shook his head, “No! He’s making me unleash my abilities, forming cracks in the dam that get wider every time I tap into them, making it more likely I the dam will burst out of my control.” Indy suddenly seized up and clenched his sides until it passed. “I can’t do this. What if I hurt someone, or destroy the Kingdom of Caring?”
Take Care took a deep breath then spoke with a harsher tone to her voice, “Indy, you can’t just give up on this. I can understand your fear but if you give up this is going to get worse and you won’t be able to help fight when the time comes. I don’t pretend to understand how your abilities work, other than it’s controlled by your mind, but if you give up then things will only get worse.” She knew she was getting through to him when Indy turned to face her, “Think of it this way: if he helps you put some holes in that dam of yours then maybe you can release the energy without hurting anyone. I know you can do it.”
“Maybe…” Indy looked back at her. Part of him wanted to tell her how he felt, and he opened his mouth, then stopped and smiled. “OK. I’ll try just…stay away from me until I think I have a handle on it. I don’t want to hurt anyone by mistake.” Indy stood up.
“I know you won’t.” Take Care smiled as Indy walked away. She didn’t see Indy blushing but he did feel a small surge of confidence from her.
Take Care felt unusually hot and her heart was hammering faster than it should have. How did she feel about him? She picked up her book and re-opened it. She would have to think about that later, just not right now…
