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More Than Darkness	By : SaMe Category: M through R > Once Upon A Time In Mexico Views: 4591 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the movie that this fanfiction is written for, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-1
- 2-2
- 3-3
- 4-4
- 5-5
- 6-6
- 7-7
- 8-8
- 9-9
- 10-10
- 11-11
- 12-12
- 13-13
- 14-14
- 15-15
- 16-16
- 17-17
- 18-18
- 19-19
- 20-20
- 21-21
- 22-22
- 23-23
- 24-24
- 25-25
- 26-26
- 27-27
- 28-28
- 29-29
- 30-30
- 31-31
- 32-32
- 33-33
- 34-34
- 35-35
- 36-36
- 37-37
- 38-38
- 39-39
- 40-40
- 41-41
- 42-42
- 43-43
- 44-44
- 45-45
- 46-46
- 47-47
- 48-48
- 49-49
- 50-50
- 51-51
- 52-52
- 53-53
- 54-54
- 55-55
- 56-56
- 57-57
- 58-58
- 59-59
- 60-60
- 61-61
- 62-62
- 63-63
- 64-64
- 65-65
- 66-66
- 67-67
- 68-68
- 69-69
- 70-70
- 71-71
- 72-72
- 73-73
- 74-74
- 75-75
- 76-76
- 77-77
- 78-78
- 79-79
- 80-80
- 81-81
- 82-82
- 83-83
- 84-84
- 85-85
- 86-86
- 87-87
- 88-88
- 89-89
- 11
- 12
- 13
This is a crossover smutty story featuring the character of
Tess/Salida ie Tess' Voice in Neon Dasies' OUATIM fics on ff.net,
More Than Eyes Alone Can See, and More Than Life, and Sands/Jeffrey from
Merrie's OUATIM fic on ff.net, Darkness Rising. This story will make some
sense, probably, if you read it without having read either of our stories, but
it'll make a hell of a lot more if you just read them. They're all worth
reading, we promise. Anyway, on with the show.
Rated for what has happened, and what might happen. We�re really not quite sure
ourselves. On with the story.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He reached over to the pillow that had been pushed out from underneath
Salida�s head and pulled a promising looking feather out of it. He looked at it for a moment, looked up at
Salida and smirked before his hand descended upon her body. She gasped and arched under his hands at the
familiar touch, but that didn�t stop him. He tickled every inch of her skin with lazy
movements, his head propped by an elbow as he lay on his side to watch her. �Do you like this, vixen?� he asked smugly. He fully intended on bringing her to her edge
as many times as it took to satisfy him that she had paid sufficiently for what
she had inflicted on him. Not that he
hadn�t liked any of it, that wasn�t the point. The point was that he had to show her who was
in charge once more or she might begin to get ideas.

�t met me,� she groaned breathlessly, �If I didn�t like it, you�d be the
first to know.� She whimpered in need as
he trailed the feather over her breasts, then down between them to her stomach
and sides. Incrementally it drifted
lower, controlled by Jeffrey�s diabolical plan for her eventual downfall. Writhing, she felt the sheet lift as Jeffrey
presumably disappeared under it. He�d
certainly moved down her body, still not touching her, but close enough for her
to feel the heat of his body.

The feather neared her hips and she held her breath in anticipation . .
. only to have it disappear and reappear at her feet. He tickled the sensitive curve of her instep,
and Salida shrieked, tugging her foot away before he grabbed hold of her ankle
and pinned it to the bed.

�Were you expecting me somewhere else, vixen?� he asked with a smirk as
he unmercifully tickled the bottom of her foot. �My, my, vixen. I had no idea you were so ticklish. I�ave ave to remember this little fact for
some other time. But for now I grow
bored of this game,� he said, letting the feather fall slowly to her stomach. �You�re lucky I�m such a fucking impatient man
or I might be inclined to drag this on for hours, vixen.�

She started to moan at the thought of remaining empty and unfulfilled
for hours, but the moan was turned into a weak cry as Jeffrey�s mouth seemed to
attach itself to her navel. Her body
bucked at the moist heat of his mouth.
She tried to arch her body, but was hampered by the fact that her arms
were locked in place above her head.
Just when she thought she abo about to die from impatience, Jeffrey�s
hands slid under her hips to cup her ass, pulling her body up to meet his
meandering mouth.

�Oh god, Jeffrey . . . I�m so close.�
Her words were hard to get out through a throat closed with desire and
lungs panting to fuel her straining body. �Please . . . I don�t care what you do . . .
just end it . . . one way or another.�

Jeffrey saw that she had taken all the torment she could take for now
and without hesitation moved his mouth lower to latch on to her clit, sucking
on it hard. He had wanted to bury
himself in her, but that could wait. He
could wait. He did have some fucking
patience, not a lot, but somspanspan style='mso-spacerun:yes'> And he
wanted to make himself hold out for her. He tried not to react as she screamed at the
sudden sensation, tried not to hurt her as he had every time before, but he
couldn�t help himself. Something about
having his mouth on her in such an intimate way robbed him of his control and
he invariably tried to turn the pleasure he was feeling into pain for her so
that she could feel the pain and pleasure too. He knew in the back of his brain that she didn�t
respond to pain like he did, but such thoughts couldn�t
make him stop now.

Salida screamed again as she felt a sharp jab of pain that shot through
every part of her body. The stark
contrast between it and the pleasure caused by Jeffrey�s suckling was
indescribable, and once again she found herself thrown into a bone-shaking,
muscle-destroying release, cries traveling unimpeded from her open mouth.

Mes oes or hours later when Jeffrey finally released her to sink back
into the mattress, she groaned. As the
haze of orgasm receded, she felt a throbbing between her legs. He bit
me again, she thought a bit bewildered.

Feeling his weight come down next to her on the bed, she turned her head
away. A second later, lips landed on her
cheek. Struggling not to respond, she
murmured, �Jeffrey. Am I bleeding again?�

There was a short pause. �Perhaps.�

She let out a breathy laugh. �Lesou bou begin to think I�m complaining, let me assure you that I�m not. It�s just that you need to be careful down
there. A woman�s clit is a . . . knot of
some 17,000 nerves, or something like that.
That�s why it always get such a reaction. �I can�t sleep like this. If one of your personality quirks is a love
of killing people, them one of mine is a love of being clean. It�s below my love for a certain homicidal
manic, but it�s still something I need.
I never said you had to take one.
Just me.�

He laughed softly at that. �As if
I could stay out here waiting patiently as you were in their naked under the
hot water,� he said with a snort and Salida felt her head bounce as his chest
moved. �Maybe someday I�ll let you take
showers on your own,� he said, looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully. �Not likely, but perhaps. But that day�s certainly not going to be
today.�

�Mmm.� Thinking about what he�d
just said, Salida replied with a bit of disbelief, �Don�t tell me you�re
considering around round . . . because I�m exhausted.�
�What
makes you think I wasn�t just planning on enjoying the scenery?�

Salida actually lifted her head to stare at him with her eyebrows
raised.

�What? You act as if you�re
surprised,� he said with a laugh. �Now
fuck, you�re right. I�m exhausted too,
but come on. I�m not the fucking patient
type, remember? Poor fucking impulse
control?� He paused to think a moment. �And I fucking need a shower too if I�m honest
with myself.� He smirked and looked at
her. �Those little marks you left me are
going to hurt like hell under that hot water though. And not a fucking nice kind
of hurt, either. Oh well. I have no fucking regrets. As soon as we�re both fucking willing and able,
I�d do it all over again. Besides, we
didn�t get to use everything we were going to, now did we?�
Letting go of her surprise, Salida simply
laughed. �You�re going to have to wait
until tomorrow, lover. I mean it when I
say I�m exhausted.� Choosing to ignore
his look of dismay, she groaned, and pried herself from his chest, grimacing as
their �stickiness� became even more apparent.
�Shower and bed, hot stuff. I
give you full permission to accost me once the sun rises, but not until then.�

�How long is it until sunrise?� Jeffrey joked with a wicked grin on his
face. He put up his hands before Salida
could hit him with one of the pillows. �All
right, all right. Shower it is. I guess I�ll just have to be fucking content
in watching soap and water run slowly down your naked body,� he said, leering
in her direction. In truth, he was more
than ready to fall into a contented sleep now but he had to keep up the
appearance of being the nearly insatiable psychotic bastard that she knew and
loved, didn�t he? He winced a bit as her
movements tore at some of the clotting in the numerous cuts across his chest
and they began bleeding again.

�Fuck,� he muttered, sitting up on the bed and swinging his legs over
the side. He then stood up slowly, aching a bit as he went, and turned to look at the sheets
under him. They were covered in a
variety of substances, mostly sweat and droplets of blood, but just the thought
of sleeping on them made him cringe. He
didn�t really mind whether or not he was clean when he went to sleep, but dirty
sheets irked at him for some reason. If
he hadn�t known how bad they looked he would have been fine. Now that he did . . . �We�re
fucking sleeping in the other room tonight. I don�t want to sleep on those fucking ts, ts,
and I don�t think we�ve got any more.� He turned without another word and made his
way to the shower, stopping at the bathroom door. �You coming, vixen?�

�No. Despite what I said earlier,
I intend on falling asleep here and now.� �What�s wrong? Don�t fucking worry about Sands. And as for getting him
laid? Who the
fuck cares? Let him suffer.�

Sands scowled at that. �I�m still
here, you know. And it�s never like I said I wouldn�t pay for the fucking furnishings in
the first place, sunrise. What the fuck
else am I going to do with my money as long as I stay with you two fucking
wastrels here? And what the fuck is your
problem, anyway? I didn�t say I wouldn�t
let you two fucking lovebirds get an apartment together, just that I didn�t
want it to be furnished. That�s fucking
it. I don�t know why you�ve been on my
fucking case lately.�

Deciding to go in the order the complaints had come to her, Salida
addressed Jeffrey, �I thought you two were going to try to fucking get
along. And that includes letting him
fill needs that you get filled for free.�
Sands sneered at her for that one.
Salida immediately jumped on him next.
�My fucking problem with you is . . . I don�t fucking know. You�re just getting on my nerves.� Looking back at her husband, she made an
effort to lower her voice and put a leash on her temper. �Nothing�s wrong. It�s just . . .� she fought for the right
words. �I just need some time to
myself. I need to figure out what I
want.� Seeing the look of dismay on
Jeffrey�s face she quickly amended her last statement. �What I want in an apartment. As Sands so kindly pointed out, I don�t even know
what I .know you�re real. If you�re
not my vixen, then get the fuck out of here or shut the fuck up so I can talk
to her for a few minutes.� This is not fucking good. And that is the fucking understatement of the
century.

�I�m me,� she whispered.
Desperation filled her eyes. �You�re
not going leave me, are you?�

�Did you fucking leave me when I was hell bent on seeing you dead? Of course I�m not going to fucking leave you. But I don�t know what to do for you, vixen. I�m no doctor. I don�t know how to fucking stop this. All I can tell you is to keep listening to me.
I�m
real. I�m here. And I�m your fucking psychotic bastard of a husband who likes his women right in their own heads,
savvy? I don�t care how many fucking people
you�ve got in there. Tell them all to
fuck off. I don�t share. You�re mine, they can�t have you.�

As if he�d never answered, she said to herself, �Everyone leaves or
makes me leave. Even she made me leave. Even she
abandoned me in the end. What if I
needed her? She doesn�t care.� Jumping into sudden action, Salida turned to
the side and screamed, �Wake up you lazy bitch!
Fucking come back here and help me!�
Then, before Jeffrey could get to her, she crumpled to the ground,
shivering. �So cold,� she whispered,
over and over again. �I don�t want to be
here.�

Jeffrey couldn�t hold himself back any longer. The sight of his wife crumpled on the floor,
lost within the whirlwind of her own mind made something inside of him ache. Without a second thought he pulled her into
his arms and damned the consequences. �You�ll
be alright, vixen. I�m not going to
fucking leave you. Not now, not fucking
ever, savvy? And
especially not fucking now.�

Her eyes opened slowly, and when they did, the total lack of recognition
in them chilled him. The woman in his
arms slowly pulled away as if waiting for him to attack. Her eyes darted around the room. �Who are you?
Where am I? This isn�t a
hospital, is it?� Her voice sounded like
Salida�s, but it had less of an accent.

�And it looks like the fucking ride just got more interesting,� Jeffrey
muttered to himself, running a hand across his face wearily. �No, this isn�t a fucking hospital. And let me take a quick stab at this; you�re
Tess, right?� he asked with a wince. �If
you fucking are, I�ll kindly ask you to fuck off and let me have my wife back.�
As soon as the words were out of his
mouth, Jeffrey cursed. Telling her that I�m technically married to
her probably wasn't the best of ideas just yet. He groaned. �I�m an idiot,� he mutteundeunder his breath
too quiet for anyone else to hear. �Just
. . . this isn�t a hospital; it�s a hotel room in New
Orleans. I�m
sure it�s all way too much for you to fucking handle so why don�t you just go back
to sleep and save us all a hell of a lot of trouble, savvy?�

But Tess wasn�t paying any attention to him. �Oh my god,� she whispered, holding a hand to
her head in the same way Salida had. �What
happened to get them so riled up?� She
turned her head and closed her eyes, obviously trying to concentrate. �Where is it?� she muttered, her eyes
shuttling back and forth behind her eyelids.
�Where did it go? Why isn�t it
offering advice?�

�What is �it�?� Jeffrey asked, not really wanting to know.
�The
voice. The one that�s always louder than
the others. It
said it would take care of things for me so I wouldn�t have to deal with this.�

�My fucking wife is not an it you bitch! She has
a name; Salida, sunrise, my fucking beautiful vixen. And it is not her fucking fault that you woke up again. We�re dealing with it. So why don�t you just heed my advice and get
the fuck out of here before I fucking figure out a way to make you leave. I can
already tell you and I aren�t going to get on, so give me my fucking wife back!�
he shouted.

The other woman suddenly grew angry, but it was an icy anger. �You,� she accused, �have no idea what�s wrong. If my voice has been running around in my . .
. absence, then you haven�t been helping.
I can feel how tired my body is.
It �� she stopped and corrected herself, �She hasn�t been getting enough sleep to keep herself strong. I was the never the one to keep the balance
in here.� She pointed towards her
head. �That was always . . . her . . .
job. And that�s all she did.� Wincing, she moved until she could rest her
back against something. �And if I�m
right, the hormone flux going on in my body isn�t helping matters any.� Now his guest was starting to display
symptoms of hearing things; her eyes were darting around the room. �And without help, I can�t make the
Whisperers shut up. I never could. She protected me, and she said she would
protect me, but she overextended herself.
She needs rest. But if you don�t
subdue the other voices in our head . . .� she trailed off, clearly loosing
concentration.

Fuck. Not enough sleep? This is my fucking fault, isn�t it? He cursed to himself. �If you don�t subdue the other voices in your
head, then what? You go completely
fucking psychotic? Been there, done
that, earned a fucking free club membership.
What the fuck happened to my wife?
Tell me you fucking bitch, or I�m going to take my my frustration on
you.� He didn�t think he could actually
hurt her, but she didn�t necessarily know that.

�She�s in there . . . I can feel her.
She�s just drowned out by all the res�� Suddenly her head
snapped forward. �Ouch. I heard that one. Whoever she is just told me to tell you to
stop fucking overreacting and listen to the nice doctor.� To herself she grumbled,
�You don�t have to be so loud . . .
oh. I s I suppose it�s alright.�

�Stop fucking overreacting, yeah right.
I�m fucking talking to another woman in my wife�s body,� he paused a
moment and frowned. �Is this how it�s
fucking like all the time? Fuck, I
figured that talking to Sands and I at the same time would bckincking weird,
but I had no fucking idea.� He waved off
the thought and turned back to Tess.
�So, I�m supposed to listen to the nice doctor. Well, you don�t fucking sound very nice from
where I�m sitting and I�ve never really liked doctors all that much, too many
fucking questions, but whatever. So
talk, doctor. I�m all fucking ears,� he
said with a resigned sigh, leaning back against the chair Salida had been
sitting in. �Hmm. I suppose you�ll want me to get dressed first
though, huh?� he asked with a smirk, bringing her attention to the fact that he
was sitting there buck naked and had been the entire time.

Tess immediately blushed a bright, fiery red
and averted her eyes. �That might be
nice,� she muttered, leaning her head against the wall and trying to resist the
lure of the voices. �Let�s just get this
done with. I �� She stopped before she could even
start. �You�re not cartel, are
you?� There was suspicion and a hint of
in in her voice.

Jeffrey rose to his feet and began searching the side of the bed for his
discarded boxers from the previous evening.
As he pulled them on he asked.
�What are you talking about?
Cartel? As in, what, a drug
cartel? No I�m not a member of any
fucking cartel. I�m just Salida�s
husband.� He could have said more, but
he decided to leave it at that. Vixen�s been keeping secrets from me, he
thought with a wave of angry rage passing over him. How many fucking times had he told her how
much he hated secrets? �Tell me why
you�re afraid I�m a member of some kind of cartel.�

�They called me back . . . something about getting married. If I go back, I might as well be dead.� She sighed and looked out the window. �One of us might as well live something like
a life,� she said dully. �I need my
case. I assume she didn�t get rid of it.�

�Hold the fuck up for a second! Let�s
start at the beginning,� Jeffrey said, sitting down on the bed and crossing his
legs in front of him. �I�m Jeffrey,
Salida�s husband. You�re Tess, Salida�s
alter-ego. We�re in a hotel room in New
Orleans. That
much I know. Now what I don�t fucking
know and very much would like to learn, is what the fuck you�re talking about. What cartel? Who called you back? Start making sense. I warn you, I�m not the most . . . patient of
men. pan>pan>And my temper�s a little bit on the
extremely short side. So please,
enlighten me. Don�t leave me in the dark
here, I don�t fucking like it.�

Tess swallowed hard and closed her eyes.
Through gritted teeth she hissed, �Look.
We don�t much time before I loose it too. If you want to help your wife, you�ll do what
I tell you, and get explanations from her later.� As Jeffrey watched, her hand started tapping
manically on the floor. �I�m being
completely serious, here. I �� This time when she
stopped, her voice changed, so it was more liked Salida�s. �I�ll answer your fucking questions later,
lover. Just make it stop. I�m scared.
I can�t hear myself. Please let �� Both woman broke
off with a gasp. �I need my case.� Tess again.

�It�s fucking in the bathroom.
Stay there and I�ll go get it, savvy?�
Jeffrey didn�t even wait for Tessa�s nod before jumping up off the bed
and practically racing to the bathroom.
He came back a moment later with the case that was so desperately needed
in his hands and turned it over to her without another word.

Rifling through it, she pulled out two syringes � one with a blue cap,
one with a red one. �I�ve only got the
concentration to tell you this once. The
ones with the blue caps are tranquilizers.
Blues made you snooze. The ones
with the red caps are dopamine inhibitors.
Red for meds. Now, the inhibitor
is going to make everything in here go to sleep � including your wife � and the
tranquilizer will knock me out. Be
patient and her her sleep. It might take
a few days for her to be back to normal . . . whatever normal for her is.� While she�d been talking, Tess had primed the
injections. �If I wake before she does,
just give me another tranquilizer, but no more than three in forty-eight hours,
because then you�re risking an overdose.�
With hands that trembled, she injected herself, first with the
suppressant, then with the tranquilizer.
�Expect one of us to wake within the next twelve hours.� And then she was gone.

Jeffrey just stood there dumbfounded for a number of minutes watching
his wife�s sleeping body. �What the fuck
do I do now?� he asked himself aloud. had had listened to Tessa�s instructions carefully and was pretty sure he could
handle things, but watching her sleep, the open bag with the colored syringes
within at her side left him at a loss.
�Vixen just better be the one to fucking wake up,� he muttered to
himself and lay down beside her to watch her sleep. It was going to be a long day.

******************************

The first time Salida woke, it
was just long enough to confirm where she was.
In the hotel, with her husband by her side, and all quiet on the home
front. The second time she woke, it was
to stumble to the bathroom to relieve herself and get a drink for her dry
mouth. The third time she woke, she was
alone in the bedroom, although she could hear sounds coming from the living
area.

Carefully getting to her feet and waiting for the room to stop spinning
around her, she made her slow way to where her husband was sitting. Or at least where his body was sitting. From his posture, she gathered that it was
Sands in control at the moment.

She opened her mouth to speak to him, but her voice choked, and she
coughed hoarsely once or twice. Enough
for Sands to notice her presence.

�Well, someone�s in trouble,� he smirked. �I don�t suppose you really remember what for
though, do you?�

Salglarglared at him, and stumbled over.
�Lemme talk to Jeffrey,� she muttered, climbing into his lap, apparently
more than willing to wait for the opportunity to talk to her husband.

Sands just looked down at her in his lap and cleared his throat before
speaking. �Ok . . . um . . . just sit tight.
I don�t think he�s had very much sleep, sunrise,� he said softly, trying
not to think about the woman that was currently seated in his lap. �I don�t suppose next time you�d mind sitting
in a chair rather than on me? It�d make
things a lot easier on the three of us, me especially.�

�What the fuck do you want you �� Jeffrey came awake with a growl before
noticing Salida�s for his his lap. �I
see you�re awake, vixen. And in Sands�
lap,� he said, narrowing his eyes slightly. �Are you trying to get me to break another one
of his fingers? Because I know very well
the only fucking way you ended up here is if you put yourself here.�

�Thank God,� Sands muttered, his shoulders slumping a little in relief.

Salida looked at him, not quite totally awake, her face comically
glaring for a moment. Then she started
to get back up. �Go back to sleep if you�re
going to be grouchy.�

�Oh no. You obviously wanted to
talk to me; you had Sands wake me up. And
we�ve definitely got things we need to talk about. So, talk.�

�Don�t wanna talk,� she eredered rebelliously at the same time she
settled back in. �Don�t remember what happened. But I was alone and it wasn�t making me feel
good.� She looked up at him, her eyes
wide and vulnerable. �You left.� She looked away. �I made you mad, didn�t I? I�m sorry.
Tess was always the one to have schizophrenic episodes, not me. It�s different when you�re on the inside
looking out. It feels different.�

�I left because I couldn�t stay awake to watch over you any longer and I
didn�t want Sands in there by himself.�

�I wouldn�t have done anything,� Sands grumbled and Jeffrey stilled him
with a hand, too tired to argue.

�And as for the reason I�m mad; were you ever going to tell me that you�re
somehow connected to some kind of drug cartel, Salida, or were you just hoping
that I wouldn�t find out?�

Shaking her head to help clear it, she pointed out, �You never
asked. And if you haven�t noticed it
yet, we rarely talk about things that no one asks about.� Settling herself more comfortably, she said, �That�s
why I had to kill Tess. So they wouldn�t
come looking for her. I certainly don�t
want to �� Jeffrey
cut her off.

�First of all, Tess isn�t really fucking dead. But then again, you should know that better
than I. Second
of all, don�t give me some bullshit about how I never asked. I knew, fucking knew, I should ask. And
maybe we should start talking about some of those things � now�s as good a time
as any. What the fuck do you want to
know?� Jeffrey asked with an irritated sneer, spreading his arms a little. �If I can�t fucking answer your questions then
perhaps Sands will. He�s still lurking
around here somewhere. Sands, you still
here, you bastard?�

�Yes, I�m still here, Jeffrey,� Sands said in a calm voice. He obviously wasn�t feeling the irrational
anger that Jeffrey was right now.

�I thought you had the questions,� Salida asked uncertainly. She sighed and buried her face in his neck,
and he soon felt hot tears falling on his skin.
�I�m sorry. I didn�t mean to make
you mad,� she whispered. �If you want me
to go back to sleep until you can stand to talk to me, I will.�

�Shit, don�t fucking cry, sunrise,� it was Sands who spoke first,
risking Jeffrey�s wrath but more than willing to face it at the moment if it�d
get his alter ego off Salida�s case.
Having her cry against him was making him fucking uncomfortable. To Jeffrey he said, �Just go, clear your
fucking head and get some sleep. She�ll
still be here when you come back and I swear I won�t do anything to her,
savvy?�

�I didn�t mean to hurt you, vixen.
I�m sorry,� Jeffrey said softly, anger still lightly coating his
words. �I�ll be back when I don�t feel
more like shouting at you than kissing you.
I�m not really mad, I don�t think . . . I�ll just . . . I�ll be back and
we�ll talk.�

�Fuck, he really left,� Sands muttered after a few minutes. �I don�t fucking believe it. He never listens to me.�

Salida wearily got up. �Well, I
think you�re spared from apartment shopping at the moment,� she whispered,
trying to smile. �Tell him that he�s
free to wake me if I�m not already.� And
with that, she walked back the couple�s bedroom and quietly closed the
door. Once isolated, she turned on the
small TV just to provide background noise as she spent the next half hour
slowly crying herself to sleep.

******************************

Jeffrey woke up feeling like an
ass. He felt better, but fuck it, he
still felt like an ass. �If you want to
fucking salvage the love of your marriage, I suggest you get your ass in there
and comfort your fucking wife, asshole,� Sands muttered upon feeling Jeffrey
wake up. �I heard the TV on for awhile,
but I think she just turned it on so I wouldn�t hear her fucking crying. I hope you�re fucking happy.�

�Shut the fuck up. I know I�m an
asshole, alright?
I don�t need to fucking hear it from you. And when did you start giving fucking
marriage advice? I would have thought
you�d be happy to see the two of us fighting.�

For a moment Sands was at a loss.
�I-uh-fuck. You fucking tell her
this and I�ll be the one breaking
fingers, savvy?
I think she�s fucking growing on me.
And no, I don�t mthatthat I want to fuck her � well, I do actually, I�m
not going to lie, but it�s different than that � and why the fuck are you
talking to me about this now? Go in
there and talk to her.�

�Fuck you,� Jeffrey muttered, but did as Sands instructed. He didn�t bother knocking on the bedroom
door, he just entered and walked over to where Salida was asleep on the bed,
and he cursed to see that Sands had been right and she had cried herself to
sleep. �Vixen?� he asked softly, lying a hand on her shoulder to wake her up.

She started, immediately tense under his hand. Without looking at him, she pulled away, both
giving him room to sit and putting some distance between them. Studying the pattern of the bed, she opened
her mouth to start talking, but nothing came out. After several more aborted attempts, she
simply shrugged and waited for him to make the first move.

With a sigh he took a seat on the bed and cleared his throat. �I�m an asshole, alright? Go ahead and say it, I�ve already gotten shit
from Sands. I didn�t mean to get so
angrth yth you. And the only reason I
fucking left was because I didn�t want to fight with
you. You know how fucked up my mood
swings can be. I was looking to pick a
fight and if it wasn�t going to be with Sands, then it was going to be with you
and I didn�t want that to fucking happen, alright? I still don�t. But I want to know about the cartel, vixen.
Hearing Tess talk about something about your past that I never knew hurt me, alright? I didn�t
like hearing about something I should have known from another person, even if
it was still technically you. It pissed
me off. I�m still pissed off, but I�m
willing to talk to you about it. So
please, vixen. Tell me what she was
talking about. Fuck,
at this point you don�t even have to tell me that quite yet. Just say something to let me know that you�re
still fucking awake at least.�

�It�s not my past,� she whispered.
�Having a past, implies having lived. You�re
the only past I have. The rest belongs
to Tess, and I did what I could to get rid of it.� This time when he reached for her, she
scooted towards him a little. Glancing
up at him through her eyelashes, she asked in that same soft voice, �Are you
mad at me, or because of me?�

�I don�t know, vixen. I�m not
really mad at all any longer. And I
shouldn�t have been earlier. I should
have been fucking relieved that you were alright and
left it at that. But I didn�t, and I�m
sorry. I got pissed off because I
thought you were keeping secrets from me. I don�t like secrets, vixen. I never have, and I never fucking will. They get people hurt.�

�I�m sorry,� she apologized again.
�I-I just never thought about them as my secrets. They belong to Tess. But if you want to hear what I know, I�ll tell
you.� This time when she scooted over,
it was close enough that he could pull her into his arms if he wanted to.

�I understand, vixen. You don�t
have to tell me anything unless you think that a part of that past is going to
come up and bite us on the ass. Beyond
that I could fucking care less,� he said pulling her
into his arms in a tight embrace. �I
thought I fucking lost you, vixen. I
didn�t like it. I don�t want it to
happen again. But it�s not really up to
me, is it? No more than watching me go
through another fucking psychotic episode would be up to you. A fine pair we make,� he said with a laugh, leaning
down to bury his nose in her hair, inhaling deeply.

�Tessa�s father runs one of the biggest drug cartels in Mexico,�
Salida said quietly. If she was
realistic with herself, this could indeed come back to bite them in the butt.

�I take it you aren�t fucking joking,� Jeffrey muttered into her hair,
not lifting his head.

�No.� Taking a deep breath, she
started giving him the bare details she thought he needed. �Teasn�asn�t so much raised as she was
breed. Her only purpose was to become a
doctor, and then go back to Mexico
to serve her family. There�s a lot I don�t
know, but they weren�t kind to her. The
smallest infractions had the biggest consequences. One of those led to a punishment of being
staked outside one August day from sun-up to sundown without shade or
water. That�s the day I . . .� she wasn�t
sure how to continue. �Well, I suppose
you get the picture. What drove Tess
into reclusion in her own mind was a letter saying it was time for her to go
back home and face her family. And get
married to a man she�d never met. She
couldn�t take it. And to make sure they
wouldn�t keep hunting her, I staged heath.ath.�

�I see,� Jeffrey muttered, holding her even tighter than before. �And do you think these people believed your
little . . . show? I know I sure fucking
did,� hmittmitted softly. �Or will they
be coming after her, and in effect, you? I must admit, this puts a fucking twist on
things. I�m used to the idea that I�ve got a few people after me, mostly law � enforcement I�m
sure � but I never thought you would too. I find that rather appealing, somehow,� he
said, smirking into her hair.

Ignoring his comments, Salida whispered, �They might be a little
suspicious at the absence of a body . . . but that's why I choose to do what I
did. It�s entirely plausible that a body
could have been swept downriver. And I
left traces of hair and blood on the steering wheel, just in case.� Curling up, she clung to him, starting to
shiver a little. �I remember being lost,
and I didn�t like it,� she breathed, trying to get closer still. �I don�t remember a lot, but I remember
that. And then I woke up and you were
gone.�
I didn�t leave, and I won�t. Even if you were locked away within Tess�
mind, I wouldn�t leave. I�m sure I�d
annoy the hell out of her and I�d constantly try to find a way to bring you
back, but I wouldn�t leave you. I don�t
give up things that are mine. And you�re
mine, wife. I�m not leaving you unless
it�s against my will, and even then I�ll put up one hell of a fucking fight. Get that through your head right now. You�re stuck with me for awhile to come yet. Believe it.�

Her only answer was a nod, but Jeffrey could feel her relaxing in his
arms. He could feel her eyelashes
against his neck, brushing against him every time she blinked, the intervals
slowly growing longer and longer. He was
almost startled when she said, �I�m going to fall asleep if you don�t do
something about it.�

�Was that a statement, or a request, vixen?� he asked before kissing the
side of her neck gently.

�A statement,� she breathed. �I�m
still a little confused.�

Jeffrey sighed and pulled away to look at her again. �How are you confused, vixen?� he asked,
running a hand down one of her cheeks gently.

�I don�t know. My head is all
mixed up.� Rubbit het her face with one
hand, she continued, �I feel . . . high I suppose. Like everything isn�t quite . . . real.�

Jeffrey sighed deeply once more. �Tess did say it may take you a few days to
return to normal. Whatever normal for
you was, were her words. I suppose that�s
to be fucking expected. It�s not every
day that you have problems with voice inside your head trying to take over. Well, unless you�re us.
Sleep if you want, vixen. I�ll stay right here, you have my fucking
word.�

�Ok,� she whispered. Pulling the
loose blankets around her, she settled back against him. �Jeffrey?�

�Yes, vixen?�

�I love you. And I�m glad you�re
here.� She was clearly fighting against
sleep now.

�I love you too, vixen,� Jeffrey said without hesitation. He was finding it easier everyday to say the
once near choking words. �And so am I,�
he said, holding her tightly under the blankets as they lay, side by side. �Go to sleep now. I�ll be just as you left me when you wake up
tomorrow, savvy?�

�Alright.� And with that
reassurance, she dropped off into sleep, her face and body finally letting go
of her tension. Her eyes were still a
little puffy . . . but she was here, she was his, and she was beautiful.
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