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No Chance

Chapter 7

copyright 2009 comidacomida

Although it was the first time in days Courtney had a proper nightgown and a heavy comforter, she still didn't remain asleep for long. Awaking alone in the strange, windowless room had not stopped being strange, and it still left her with a cold feeling despite the warmth of the linens. Although she was practically blind in the almost complete dark, she could tell that Rex had left her side while she slept.

Sitting up, she looked to the glowing face of her watch, which sat on a chair she used as an ad hoc nightstand: ten minutes until one am. Letting out a sigh, she laid back down down, staring at the blackness that was the ceiling above her. The room had been used as a cell of sorts, and, though certain amenities were added for her, it felt like one nonetheless.

After tossing and turning, trying to get comfortable, and failing to get any peace and quiet from the thousands of thoughts rolling around in her head, Courtney finally sat up, fishing around on the floor for the pair of slippers she had purchased. Once her feet were secure in the cotton of the nighttime footwear, the woman reached for her cell phone, which lay beside the watch on the chair.

She flipped the phone open, using the display as a weak flashlight. It barely provided enough illumination by which to see, but it was better than nothing. Grabbing a robe from the foot of her bed, Courtney pulled it around her shoulders and stepped out into the hall. All of the lights were off, a sure sign that most of the other 'residents' of the installation had already gone to bed. The sound from what Courtney decided to designate as the welding bay, however, gave her a pointed reminder that not everyone was asleep.

Courtney did not really feel inclined to push her luck with regard to the bear, choosing instead a side hall which Rex, in his friendly, talkative way, had mentioned led to Daryl's quarters. She wasn't really sure she wanted to see Daryl... not at that moment, anyway, but she also didn't feel inclined to lay awake, alone and in the dark in a room by herself.

She crept down the hall, slowly and quietly, thankful that there weren't any pieces of furniture in the corridor for her to trip over. While her cell provided SOME light, it was hardly sufficient to feel comfortable with a normal walking pace. As Courtney turned the corner into the adjacent hall, however, she could see more light, and it came from underneath a door on the right, four doors down.

Courtney walked right up to it, putting her cell phone away in the pocket of her bathrobe, and held up a hand balling it into a fist as she prepared to knock. Despite her intentions, however, her knuckles didn't reach the door. She stood with her fist upraised, willing herself to rap out an introduction against the metal, but her arm disobeyed.

She stood there for several moments, and would have stood there longer, if not for the fact that the door opened of its own volition. Daryl stood on the other side, eyes glimmering in a surreal, feline way against the darkness. He was back lit from the light in the room, and Courtney had to shield her eyes against the unexpected brightness. Almost as an afterthought, she lowered her hand.

"I heard you lurking around." Daryl offered with a faint smile, making the words come across much more pleasant than they could have sounded. Courtney peeked past him into the room as her eyes adjusted; the office didn't look much more furnished than her 'cell'. "You can come in, if you like." the panther offered.

"I'm... not sure I should." Courtney noted, wondering at her own meek response. She wanted to talk to Daryl. She wanted to say what was on her mind and sit down and explain things, and demand his explanations all in the same breath. ~Damn it, Courtney,~ she chastised herself, ~Get a grip.~ "David seems to be worried that you could all be contagious." she added quickly as an attempt to cover up her own reservations.

"No he isn't." Daryl answered, one eyebrow raising. The expression was completely him. With the feline face, long, smoothly furred muzzle, and the carnivorous eyes, however, it was an alien experience, "David has said many times that we should be perfectly safe to be around, otherwise he'd never have had you join us here." Courtney was off-guard by the response, and she realized that Daryl would not have a hard time tearing her false pretenses to shreds... he'd always been good at that.

"I'm afraid, Daryl." Courtney said at last, lowering her head to avoid looking at him.

"I'm afraid too, Courtney." the panther responded simply, moving to the side so that the doorway would be clear, "But sometimes, if you talk about it, the fear isn't so bad."

The words took her back to the day he proposed to her and, for a moment, she almost lost her composure, fighting to hold the tears back. He had expressed fear then too, and promised that they would be able to work through things together, forever. She moved quickly into the room so that she could have her back to him as she worked to gain a degree of emotional balance.

The room itself smelled musky... almost feral. It made sense to think that it had the scent of a wild animal since a panther occupied it, but Courtney also recognized that, entwined with the animalistic musk was Daryl's unmistakable smell... one she used to fall asleep to when he left her one of his dirty shirts while he was away at the office overnight. She had always considered it a comforting scent, and, thought it was combined with something much more foreign, it still somehow made things seem better.

A paw on her shoulder broke her from her focus, or lack thereof. The panther slowly turned her around. Daryl had always been taller than her, but he had gained a few inches in height with his new form, forcing her to look up even as he gazed down at her. She said nothing, trying to subtly sniff away her emotions, but an errant tear on her cheek betrayed her.

The panther's eyes were glistening in the light of the single electric lamp which sat on the metal desk on the far side of the room. Although Daryl's eyes were decidedly feline, Courtney could see the warmth and love and compassion and care that were unmistakably Daryl.

"You're... in there." she spoke softly, voice crackling as she reached up to tentatively rest her fingers against the side of his face.

"I'm still me." he responded, the fur around the edges of his eyes dampening, a second paw moving to rest on her other shoulder, "I'm still here with you."

She buried her face into his sternum, crying as she wrapped her arms around his chest, "Oh god..." she sobbed, "I thought I lost you."

Daryl folded his furred arms around her entirely, holding her close. He lowered his head so that the underside of his muzzle rested across hers, and she felt a warm tear land the back of her neck, "I thought I lost you too."

Courtney held tightly to Daryl, as if her physical grip on the panther would help her keep the mental focus that allowed her to see him as who he was. It took her so long to see him within the animal that she couldn't bear the thought of losing that new insight. The panther in her arms was her fiancee. The panther in her arms was Daryl. The panther in her arms was... purring.

"I missed you, so much." he spoke softly, the movement of his jaw felt atop her head as he spoke the words, "Every day, I couldn't think of anything but you. I waited and waited until I'd have the chance to see you again."

"That's why you sent the files?" Courtney spoke, finally letting her death grip on the panther slacken. The words did not come out accusingly, and she was thankful for that, especially when he tensed up at the comment.

"It's alright..." she said softly, comfortingly. Any frustration she had held onto-- any anger she felt for the misdirection and subterfuge had come and gone. "I'm glad I'm here, Daryl... it doesn't matter how I got here, what happened, or what's going to happen later... I'm just glad I'm here now... right now... with you."

Daryl looked down at her, head cocked to the side as he appeared to study her, almost as if for the first time. "I'm glad you're here now too." A smile slowly found its way to his muzzle, even as she felt her own lips creep up into a similar, if reserved expression.

"There are so many things I want to say... to tell you... to talk about..." Daryl offered, tripping over his words.

"I know... me too." Courtney offered, "I--" she paused, glancing to the side of the room and at the desk, when she realized for the first time that there was music playing at a low volume. The fact that a song came to an end is what caused a newly realized silence to take hold of her attention, making her notice a CD player that was resting at the edge of the desk. Courtney realized what the music was even before Daryl explained.

"I found the CDs in the things you bought while David and I were unloading." he noted. The CD Daryl had chosen to play was a compilation of songs that ranged from the early 70s to the early 80s. Courtney had seen it in a store while shopping and thought of her fiancee immediately; he always preferred music that didn't include vocals, and the CD compilation was made for karaoke.

Daryl stepped nearer, his paw moving down her arm until she felt his soft paw-pad press into her palm. Courtney slid her fingers through the space between his. The panther's other paw drifted across her back until it came to rest on her hip. He drew her a little closer, and began to slowly spin, stepping in time with the music.

The two danced together through an instrumental rendition of "Angel of the Morning" without saying a word, and Courtney dared to let her mind rest, simply enjoying the music, and the closeness to the man she loved regardless of what form he took. Daryl continued to hold her close as the song came to an end, and their embrace held through the duration of the silence between songs. Courtney tensed when she heard the unmistakable chords to the next song, and Daryl chuckled softly at the irony.

"You remember this song..." he spoke softly to her, beginning to lead her into another slow dance. Daryl had always been a good dancer in Courtney's mind, but the panther was attentive to her every body motion, stepping in time with the instrumental using a smooth motion that was even more graceful than Daryl had been before.

"It's Eric Clapton." Courtney nodded against his chest, her ear cushioned by the smooth, lush, soft grayish-black fur that covered it, "I love this song. It came out the year I was born."

She felt Daryl nod against the top of her head, "I know." was his simple answer, Your birthday is coming up in two weeks." Courtney blushed at his comment; Daryl had always had a mind for dates, and it was yet another thing her mind could grasp hold of to remind her that the panther was truly her fiancee.

The introductory chords to the song did not last long. They continued to dance and Courtney's blush only grew more prominent as Daryl began to serenade her.

"It's late in the evening she's wondering what clothes to wear." Daryl sung softly in time with the music, softly caressing her back with the paw that had been holding her hip. "She puts on her makeup and brushes her long brown hair." he drew his blunt, animalistic fingers from the back of her neck down to the bottom of her shoulder blades, the faintest hint of claws working their way through her hair.

"And then she asks me 'Do I look alright?'," he continued the song, holding her close to him as she tried banish the new tears forming in her eyes.

"And I say 'Yes'," Courtney quickly added, speaking the lyrics, "'you look wonderful tonight.'." Daryl chuckled warmly, giving her a gentle squeeze while they continued the dance. The last few days worth of frustration, anger, and confusion melted further away with each step as Daryl led her around the room in a slow dance.

"How lucky could I be? 'cause I'm so happy to see this beautiful lady that's dancing around with me." Daryl sang, extending his arm, and she spun on one foot before returning to his arms "And then she asks me--"

"Do you feel alright?" Courtney offered, her voice barely a whisper as she pressed herself against the furred form, no longer bothering to stop her tears, letting the bottled up emotions overtake her while he held her close.

"And I say 'Yes, I feel wonderful tonight.'." Daryl brushed the top of her head with his muzzle, kissing her through her hair. His breath was smooth and strong. She felt each inhale and exhale against her body, the sound and feel of it captivating in its simplicity, and she marveled at how much alike it was with what she remembered feeling when they had danced in the past.

"I feel wonderful because I see the love lighting your eyes." he remained close, but drew back enough that she could look up and see him gazing down at her, his feline eyes glinting green in the lamp light. She could not deny that Daryl's new form held a certain animal magnetism... a predatory edge that both frightened and attracted her at the same time.

Their eyes locked, "And the wonder of it all is that you just don't realize how much I love you." he whispered, no longer bothering to time the words with the music.

She stood on her tip toes, raising up as he leaned down, and her lips met his muzzle, his arms wrapped strongly around her as she felt the vibration of his purr through her entire body. The kiss lasted much less time than she would have liked; she would have been content to let him hold her until the end of time. Daryl, however, did not surrender the song, and continued with the musical accompaniment.

The lyrics he chose for the song were not the same as the original, but Courtney found them more meaningful. Daryl had always been very good at ad libbing, and the different lyrics he selected were that much more powerful... that much more personal... that much more Daryl.

"It's time to go sleep now, my eyes are bloodshot and red." he smiled softly, giving her another gentle kiss before he resumed the dance, both of them drawing closer to the desk at the back of the room, "So I tell her I love her. She helps me to bed." he reached for the CD player with one paw, hitting the off button, but not ceasing the dance.

Courtney rested her head against his chest again, closing her eyes as she let his voice seep into her. Daryl's voice had changed with his form, but not entirely. There were elements of it that reminded her of her fiancee's tone and speech pattern, but she threw the analysis of it away, simply thankful beyond words that she chose to venture out into the hall in search for what was missing. She knew she found it.

"And then I tell her as I turn out the light," Daryl slowly led her to a stop as he ended the dance, reaching out a paw to touch the electric lamp. He remained close to her as everything in the room went black, only the faintest hint of Daryl's eyes' glimmering green visible, "I say 'My Darling, you were wonderful tonight.'." he sung softly without the music.

The panther gently pulled her down to the sofa that took up the middle portion of the room. It wasn't a large piece of furniture by any means, but there was enough room for them to share it. Daryl wrapped an arm around her as he pulled her close, and she closed her eyes, feeling warmer than she had on the cot, even with the comforter. No amount of bedding could have possibly compared with the inner warmth that blazed within her at Daryl's presence.

"Oh my darling," the panther crooned softly, "you were wonderful tonight." he murmured, and Courtney could have sworn she heard ethereal music accompanying his voice. The song couldn't have been any more perfect. She let out a long, contented sigh and she heard him do the same. Daryl's purring vibrated against her back, and, though decidedly non-human, it made her smile.

Courtney didn't know what to expect when she left her room. She had no idea that she would be able to speak with Daryl and wouldn't, in her wildest dreams, imagine that the many frustrations and fears and problems of the past weeks would drain away over the course of a dance. Despite Daryl's reserved, predictable, and safe manner, he never ceased to amaze and surprise her.

Inhaling deeply, Courtney let out the breath, slowly and quietly. Although the musky scent of the room was very prominent, she couldn't help but admit that she enjoyed it, just as she had every time she fell asleep with Daryl's shirt in her hands while he had been away in the past. Closing her eyes, Courtney laced her fingers with the panther's paw on her stomach, and smiled. She fell asleep in his arms, unable to think of any other place she'd rather be.