Watch Over Me

VII. Anne and Mo

Mo recovered slowly, and Anne happily nursed him for a long time. She secretly looked forward to the washing sessions, knowing that Mo would take over as soon as he could. Oh well, she'd had a good opportunity to touch and help the man she loved -- she'd finally acknowledged the fact to herself. Telling Mo -- well, that was quite a different cup of tea.

Gradually Mo started doing things himself. The first clear sign of recovery was when he was strong enough to handle a fork and spoon, and Anne sat watching him eat with delight. The next one was when he could help himself in the bathroom. Washing himself was not possible yet -- fortunately, Anne thought.

But slowly but surely even that was taken from her hands, and eventually -- the school year was over, and Anne spent her holidays around Mo -- he was strong enough to go out into the garden on Anne's arm.

She felt very happy when she led Mo to a chair in the garden -- out in the balmy air, in the beautiful countryside he loved so much. When he was comfortably settled she turned around to go indoors to get the tea tray, and supply Mo with a nice cup of Earl Grey. But she stopped in her tracks, when he said, "You did give up a lot of your life, didn't you, staying here, staying put to watch over me?"

She turned around, and, standing behind him, put her hands on his chest, rubbing him a bit. "I felt very happy, nursing you," she said. "It could hardly have been better."

He looked up at her.

She nodded. "Really," she said. "I could be so happy with you."

He gripped her wrists, and he saw that she she smiled a crooked smile -- just half of her face. He thought she might start crying any moment, and he didn't want to make her do that. His hands were strong and warm, and Anne didn't try to get away.

"So could I. Shall we try? Please?" he said.

Anne bit her lips for a moment. Then she bent down down and kissed Mo on the mouth. "I should have spoken up long ago," she said. "When I was just back with you I played the music you'd been listening to. Maybe we aren't late for our lives after all... I just misinterpreted what I saw. If I hadn't... Oh well. I'll go and get us some tea first."

She kissed him once more and went off to the kitchen, smiling. She remembered what Medbh and Jenny had said, and realised they'd been right. She wondered why apparently it was much easier to see things for someone else... One's own scruples seemed to be mightily in the way.

Tea. She put the kettle on and prepared the pot. When she was ready she put everything on a tray and went out into the garden.

Mo sat basking in the August sunshine, looking very happy. Anne thought he looked great, and sweet, and just what she wanted. She felt a warmth that Mark had never instilled in her. Mo and she had drawn circles around each other quite long enough, she thought.

When Mo heard her footsteps on the path he looked her way and beamed at her. While Anne poured the tea, he said, "You know, while you were nursing me I tried to decide how to tell you how much you meant to me and how much I valued your presence..." He was silent for a moment, and then said, blushing hard, "I loved being nursed by you -- and washed." He grinned, a little guiltily. "I knew it would stop, like all good things will. And I wondered if I could keep you here somehow."

Anne put the cup on the table in front of him. "I loved washing you, too," she said, smiling. "Maybe you'll let me do so more often. And I felt --" she corrected herself -- "feel that here is where I ought to be. I always thought you couldn't want me. I talked a lot about you with Medbh. She thought I was wrong... Mo, I had a relationship with Mark Annison. It was a great mistake -- but I'd rather you heard from me than from someone else."

"I'm a bit slow in hearing about that sort of thing," Mo said, "but I knew. I gathered you'd ended it somehow."

He smiled at her, and she smiled back. Mark wouldn't be an issue between them. And then she realised, that that was one of the reasons why she loved this man. He really did see through a lot of things, and he seemed to know that she would be his and his alone, without any reservations, no matter what had happened in the past. She looked at his face, that was a little haggard still, and she noticed his grey hairs were considerably larger in number. He looked quite distinguished, she thought, and quite unlike Mark. Her heart went out to him so much it overwhelmed her completely, and she got up and went to Mo, and kissed him again, a good deal longer, this time. It was very satisfying, and very sweet, and she found Mo's tongue. She let go of him sooner than she liked, but she didn't want him to get too tired.

"I'm sorry I can't stand up yet," Mo said.

"That's alright, silly -- we've got all the time in the world," Anne said, and stroked his hair. Then she went back to her seat and picked up her teacup. She sighed deeply, a contented, happy sigh.

"I'll go and get my personal things from my apartment," she said. "The furniture is a bit cheap, and not as good as yours. You know, when I lived here first I was afraid I might intrude, so I stayed in my room most of the time..."

"I should have told you then how happy I was whenever you did come down. When you left..." Mo could still feel the pain of that moment. "I'm sorry. But it will be alright now, Anne." He looked at her and nodded. "It will."

Anne went to town after tea, and she picked up her clothes, books and the other personal belongings that she valued. Then she went to Tesco's for a bottle of Mo's favourite wine, a Spanish vino tinto. She felt elated and a bit apprehensive at the same time. But she told herself it would be alright, and she drove home with a glad heart.

She found Mo in the living room. He was playing an old LP by Steve Goodman, and he got up when she entered. Anne went up to him and took his hands. She looked into his eyes, and he smiled at her. "Got all you wanted? Room enough in the car?"

Anne nodded. "Everything," she said. "I'll have Oxfam's over to see if they can use the rest." She kissed him and added, "I'll go and make dinner, and I'll see to my things afterwards. I bought some wine -- would you care for a glass?"

"Yes, please. I'll come with you to the kitchen. I'll try not to be a nuisance -- OK?"

He slowly made his way to the kitchen, and Anne felt happy he wanted to come along. She poured two glasses of wine, and then started cooking, working efficiently and fast. When everything was on the boil she sat down at the table and picked up her glass.

"Lovely," Mo said. "You remembered I like this?"

She nodded. "I think I remember almost everything. You do when things are important."

"Yes," Mo said. "Maybe I ought to send Murchison a letter of thanks."

"Don't you even think of it!" Anne looked at Mo shocked. Then it dawned on her what he meant, and she broke into a grin. "He'd be very disgruntled if you did," she said. "Maybe you should, after all."

After dinner Anne cleared the table and made them some coffee. When they had finished it she went out to the car to carry her things into the house. "Remember you did most of the carrying last time?" she said to Mo, who sat watching her bring boxes of books into the living room.

"I couldn't do so now," he said. "Not yet. But I'll do my best to be up to scratch again soon."

When Anne came in with her clothes, Mo said, "There is a lot of empty space in the wardrobe in my bedroom. Er, you will move into mine, won't you?"

"Okay. Yes, I will. Thanks," Anne said.

It felt a bit strange, putting her clothes on the shelves there, but there was ample room for her entire wardrobe. She carefully hung her dresses on the clothes rail, and put the rest neatly away. She liked the tidy arrangement of Mo's clothes and she tried to have hers in there in the same way.

When she came into the living room again she saw that Mo was busy looking through her small library. "You have excellent taste in books," he said, making her blush. "Do you think it would be alright if I had another glass of wine before bed?"

"I'll get the bottle,"Anne said.

They sat together drinking their wine and talking for another thirty minutes. Then Anne said, "I'm sorry, baby, but I have to send you to bed now. I want you to get entirely well as soon as possible."

"Going," Mo said. "Coming to help me undress?"

Anne smiled at him and took his arm. She helped him climb the stairs and helped him with his trousers and underpants -- bending over still hurt quite a bit. When she pulled his underpants down she let her hair stroke his cock, and she heard Mo breathe in sharply.

"That felt nice," he said, blushing.

"I hoped it would," Anne said. She found his pyjamas and helped him into them. Mo brushed his teeth at the basin and Anne assisted him in lying down.

"I'll go and lock up," she said. "Then I'm coming to bed, too. It's quite late enough."

When she came back Mo was still awake.

"You should be asleep by now," Anne said.

"As if I could, knowing you will come up here and get undressed. I never saw you naked yet."

"Okay," Anne said. She smiled at Mo, walked to his bedside table and handed him his glasses. "If you want to watch you'd better see me well," she said with a smile. Then she undressed, facing him, down to her underwear. "Would you care to unfasten my bra?" she said.

Mo nodded. "Yes, please," he said.

Anne sat down on the edge of the bed, and Mo undid the hooks of her bra. She let it slip down her arms, and turned Mo's way.

"Wow," he said softly. "You're beautiful, baby!"

"Don't you want to touch me?" Anne said.

Mo touched her breasts, feeling the resilient skin and the soft undersides, and then stroked her nipples for a moment. He immediately got a firm erection, and he ran his tongue over his lips to moisten them. Then he smiled at Anne and repeated, "You're beautiful, baby! Really and truly."

"Thank you, Mo," Anne said. She got up and took off her panties, and Mo looked at her and smiled. Anne saw he had tears in his eyes; and she understood only too well. She bent over to him and cuddled him, and then she gave him a long kiss.

Then she straightened herself. "Bedtime now," she said. "I want you to be free from pain as soon as possible!"

She looked at him with a pout, and he knew exactly what she meant. He nodded. "So do I," he said. "Thank you for letting me watch."

Anne got into her nightdress and slipped between the sheets. "Good night, love," she said. "Sleep tight!"

She kissed him softly and switched off the light.

Anne had a series of confused dreams that ran into each other that night. When she woke she couldn't exactly remember what they'd been about, and she didn't know where she was at first. Then it gradually dawned on her, and she broke into a warm glow of happiness. She got up on an elbow and looked at Mo, who lay sleeping sweetly at her side. "Hi, baby," she whispered.

The alarm clock said 6.30 -- too early to get up yet. Anne lay back, looking at the ceiling and wondering how Mo would be as a lover -- she liked the way he kissed, and she thought she could still almost feel his hands on her breasts. They had been warm and firm and although he'd been a little subdued at first, she expected there would be fire down below. The thought made her quite moist, and she slipped a hand into her panties to see to her need.

She was very careful not to wake Mo, though, and it didn't work too well because of that -- though well enough, given the circumstances. It was hard, though, lying next to the man you really wanted and knowing you'd hurt him if you made love -- his ribs were still very painful, even when he coughed or laughed.

Mo woke up a little after seven. He groaned a little when he made a too sudden move, but the pain was bearable, and he lifted his head and looked at Anne, who'd sat up when she heard Mo get awake.

"Good morning, sweetheart," he said. "I've dreamt of you, and your image seems engraved on my mind. How did you sleep?"

"It felt like I dreamt all night," she said. "But I can't remember what it was about. I've been awake for half an hour or so, thinking about us." She smiled at the thought.

"I felt so happy last night," Mo said. "And aroused. I do know what to get well for."

"Aroused?" Anne said. "Would you like me to see to that, young man?"

When he said he would, very much, she slipped her hand under Mo's duvet and found his cock, and she slowly rubbed him to his full size. "Can I use my mouth on you?" she asked.

Mo nodded. "As if you'd have to ask!" he said.

"Okay," Anne said, and she pushed the duvet off his body. She first kissed Mo, long and sweet, while she worked his cock with her hand, before she shifted position on the bed and found his cock with her mouth.

Mo lay looking at her, beaming -- he could hardly believe it was really true. But the feeling seemed real, and when he pinched his arm he knew he was really awake, and experiencing something he'd never believed would ever come his way. He felt for her head with his hand and stroked her cheek. Anne, oh Anne, he thought, what a fool I was. Then he flinched - extending his arm hurt not a little. He let go and lay back and the pain went away. He smiled at Anne.

Anne looked up at him for a moment, and saw the warmth of his smile when he saw her look. She stopped for a moment, and said, "Are you comfortable, baby?"

Mo nodded. He wasn't going to mention the stab odf pain. "I'm so happy," he said. "The best thing of all was waking up beside you, knowing I will do so every day, and knowing you'll be there to watch over me, as I will over you." He smiled, and she smiled back at him.

He was dead right; that was just what counted. "Yes," she said. "We will!"

Then she addressed herself again to the pleasurable task she'd undertaken. She slowly licked his length, using as much spittle as she could produce, and then took the head between her lips and sucked. She heard Mo make a little noise, and smiled around his tool, and then she moved her mouth up and down slowly, while rubbing the loose outer skin in the contrary direction. She moved her tongue quickly, and used it to press hard into the stem, and then she let go until she only held the tip between her lips, before going down just a little bit again, softly biting the edge just below the tip.

Mo groaned more audibly. It was inexpressibly great -- sexy, and arousing, and satisfying... "Oh Anne, sweet Anne," he managed to say before he let the sensation take him over completely.

Anne felt very happy. During all their sexual contacts Mark had never once used a term of endearment, or her name, for all that. He generally spoke to her in imperatives, and though she remembered being talked dirty to had turned her on then, it had never made her feel really wanted -- other than as a receptacle for his juices. "It's okay, baby," she said.

She took his balls in one hand, forming a ring around their base, and pressed them softly. Then she let go and started humming while she sucked him a little deeper into her mouth.

Mo, who'd spent months trying to get better, being unable to even touch himself, felt close to bursting point, and when Anne suddenly began bobbing up and down over his cock it was too much for him.

"Anne," he panted, "I, er... I..."

"Let go, baby! It's okay!"

She clamped her lips around his cock and ran circles around the head with her tongue, while she took his balls in her hand, and it wasn't long before she felt him contract and then spurt up into her mouth. She swallowed it all, noticing that he tasted quite nice. She'd never cared much for Mark's taste -- because she didn't really love him? Infatuation and love were worlds apart, she knew.

When Mo's orgasm had subsided she let him go from her mouth, she planted a little kiss on the tip, and lay down beside her love.

Mo beamed at her. "Let me kiss you!" he demanded.

"You don't mind, er --"

"Of course not," he said, and as she put her lips on Mo's, Anne felt, once again, how very much she loved him, her charge, her lover, her Mo.

VIII. Healed

It was the middle of September. There were spiders in the hedges, the apples were turning red, temperatures were down to the lower fifties, and there was a clear hint of autumn in the air. Anne tried to tend the garden as well as she could, following Mo's advice if necessary. He would never give her instructions, and she loved him the more for that, as she knew that he saw her as his true equal, if not as a higher being -- which she certainly wasn't, she said.

They talked a lot. Anne knew now that she wasn't only welcome around Mo at any time, but that he needed her just as much as she needed him, and they admitted each other into their lives without any reservations. Mo played her a lot of CDs and records, some of which were entirely new to her, and when they were done talking they sat down together reading, looking up to give the other a bright smile ever so often.

Their one sexual encounter remained just the one -- Mo felt, the very day, that his ribs hurt quite a lot, and Anne definitely wasn't going to have him fall back in his recovery, to his great unspoken disappointment. He was reasonable enough to admit she was right, though.

Anne had started teaching again, now that Mo was strong enough to get himself through the day, and the doctors had indicated that they expected Mo would be entirely well again by Christmas at the latest. Anne enjoyed going to school much more now she was at peace with herself, without the fever of her previous relationship or the depression of living in Gayle's apartment.

Jenny was the first to notice, and she commented on it when they were out together at the cinema to watch "L'Enfant Sauvage."

"Er -- don't take this amiss, please, but have the two of you struck up something together? You are different!"

Anne smiled at her friend. "Remember what you said to me? You and Medbh, an old friend of Mo's, said the same thing, more or less. I eventually decided to give it a try, and it worked"

"Oh -- that really is great news! Congratulations!"

"Thank you, Jen, for being such a good friend. I'll ask you over some day soon, okay?""

"Yes, please," Jenny said. "I'd really love that."

Then the film started and they fell silent.

Being around Mo and living in the country had given her rest, even though it was hard work at times. But Mo was clearly getting better -- he did all sorts of small jobs to save her work. To her delight he didn't treat her like a Victorian heroine any more -- he'd obviously learnt more than a little about himself. She sometimes smiled when she thought of her first period there as a guest -- being a guest was being on an unequal footing, she thought. Would it have been better if she had paid for her stay? Probably not -- and she didn't see what exactly should have been different. Oh well, it was really right now.

Anne found Mo had put up a large supply of logs before he got beaten up, and as they hadn't used the fire during the long period of convalescence and warm summer months, there was no need for her to go out into the shed to supply new ones; she just carried a basket of logs into the room every evening, and Mo would light the fire. One basket was exactly enough to last them till bedtime.

It was a Friday when Anne came back and saw that there was smoke coming from the house. Oh no, she thought -- no fire, please. What if Mo -- She pressed down the accelerator and raced home, much faster than she ever did. When she rounded the top of the hill she saw it was just the chimney. She sighed with relief and allowed her shoulders to relax. Thank God, she thought. Mo must have visitors.

She parked the car close to the house and hurried inside to greet them. To her surprise Mo was alone. He was sitting in front of the fire, with a cup of tea and he grinned at her broadly.