-Over three and a half years after the Official Disbanding of Chaldea-
"And done…."
Jeanne hit enter on her keyboard, sent the draft revision list, and leaned back in her chair to stretch groaning as she did so. She closed her eyes and reached up to massage her shoulders while enjoying the peace of the moment as her lips curved up into a small smile. She opened her eyes and looked around her office noting that in the few months since she had gotten it she had more or less turned it into her own space. She pulled her legs up and hugged her knees to her chest as she looked around from where she was sitting.
Coming into her office the first thing you felt was a sense of peace and that was due to having Micheal teach her how to make a natural bounded field meant to help people be calm and think clearly while inside it. What powered it was a few items they had infused with mana and turned into totems that she had then placed at key areas around her office but over time a side effect had come about from having the bounded field.
Which was that people often used her office as a space to relax if need be. Something that at first annoyed her but after she established ground rules, and made sure it was known that you break them a single time you're not allowed in anymore, it had become commonplace for her to come back from lunch or getting coffee or coming in after a meeting to find someone sacked out or just relaxing on the sofa.
Aside from the bounded field right next to the door was a small table and on the wall was a giant corkboard that was covered in print outs, sketches, half drawn ideas, and the like. Below that was the aforementioned sofa with a small table in front of it then a bit of open space before you got to her workspace proper. On the wall to the left of the door was a floor to ceiling and wall length book shelf full of ring binders, notebooks, and dozens of drawing books from artists around the world and throughout time. Extending out from the bookshelf was a massive L-desk that was in front of the windows that made up an entire corner of her office. On the desk was her PC, triple monitors, drawing tablet, sketch paper, and enough drawing supplies to make an art student sob while directly behind her was a more traditional office table with two chairs in front of it for when she had to have a meeting with anyone.
She lowered her legs back to the floor and looked at the sofa to see her assistant sleeping peacefully. She grinned and shook her head slightly as she watched Emily hug one of the pillows a bit tighter while muttering in her sleep. Emily had been a gods send and Jeanne made sure to treat her above and beyond well for her help. Once Jeanne had gotten her promotion, and the office she now occupied, she had quickly been swamped with so much work she wasn't able to do her job as a mangaka. So she had reached out to her boss about getting an assistant to help with administrative tasks so she could focus on drawing and doing her actual job. Her boss had been happy to not only send over some resumes but also put out a job application which Jeanne had been very clear that she would be hiring an assistant off of her own gut and thoughts which meant that HR could choke on it.
Her grin took on an edge reminiscent of one of her Avenger grins as she remembered that little meeting with HR she had been dragged into after they found out she had cut them out of the hiring process. She was still convinced that HR had it out for her but she knew that as long as she put out stellar results with her work they couldn't touch her. She refocused back on Emily and glanced at the clock on the wall noting that it was about time to for them to start getting ready to go home. She briefly thought about calling her husband but quickly shook the thought away knowing that she'd be seeing him in an hour or so once she had locked up and gotten onto the subway. She turned back to her desk and picked up her stylus as she thought back to how she had even met her assistant in the first place.
It had been entirely by chance about a month and a half into the search. So far everyone who had applied and managed to get to the point of meeting with her directly hadn't met her personal bar for what she was looking for. She did, however, forward their resumes and her thoughts on them to some of the other companies and people she knew were in similar lines of work. What she was looking for wasn't anything that could be trained or honed but rather something intrinsic about the person themselves.
If she was being fully honest she was looking for someone who reminded her of how Micheal had helped her both as her direct assistant during the first servafes and then as her manager during the second one a few years later. So it had gone on and on until she had been out getting lunch at a sandwich shop after a particularly brutal set of days of work. She had been sleeping on the sofa in her office the entire time and had finally decided to go out to get something to eat as opposed to letting Micheal bring her food like he had been.
So she had been barely paying attention and rattled off her usual sandwich order while her mind was occupied by her workload when the person making her sandwich said something to her that immediately grabbed her full focus,
"No offense ma'am but you look awful. Whatever you're in the middle of make sure to take some time to relax okay?"
She had immediately snapped her gaze to the brunette woman who had started making her sandwich and knew in her gut that this person had to be her assistant. So after she had eaten her sandwich she had gone to the manager of the shop and asked about the woman. She got some baseline information and decided to just pull the trigger as she asked if the manager would be okay if she stole the woman for her own work. The Manager seemed to consider it but shook their head and said it was up to the worker.
Over the next few days Jeanne had frequented the same sandwich shop trying to get a pin on this woman, even getting her name which was Emily, and then eventually Emily paused as she was making what had to be Jeanne's 9th sandwich in just as many days,
"Ma'am you said your name was… Jeanne right? I've been curious but… why do you have me always make your sandwiches? I'm not the best at this. I'm only here because I have to pay rent on my flat and even then…"
Emily had trailed off and Jeanne jumped saying she wanted to hire her. Emily had blinked and looked behind her before pointing at herself,
"Yes. You. When do you go on break? I want to talk to you."
Emily's eyes widened and she looked at the nearby clock saying she would be on her lunch break in half an hour. Jeanne had nodded and sat down to wait deciding to read a book on her phone while doing so.
It turns out that Emily was a recent graduate from the University of London and had majored in the Arts while getting a minor in management as a back up incase her art degree didn't go anywhere. The more that they talked the more certain that Jeanne knew she needed Emily as her assistant. By the end of their talk she had handed Emily her card, causing the womans eyes to damn near pop out of her head once she read it, and told her to put in her two weeks.
"What about… the interview or the hiring process or- Surely there are better candidates-"
Jeanne smiled and shook her head,
"I want you. I've been looking for almost two months now and I've found my assistant. Assuming you accept that is?"
"YES! I mean- Yes! I'd… Let me go to my manager and explain-"
"Already talked to your manager. Your two weeks are a formality. You just need to show up next Monday at the address on my card. I'll let the Front desk know to let you in and get you up to the floor I'm on."
Emily seemed to be carved from stone for all the movement she had before she eventually managed to speak.
"I… Look forward to working with you Mrs…"
"Lafaire. My name is Jeanne d'Altreyr Lafaire but feel free to call me Jeanne. See you Monday then and expect to be worked to the bone."
"Yes Mrs. Lafaire!"
Jeanne pulled herself out of her memories and sighed as she knew that she needed to wake up Emily in order for them both to make their trains home. She got out of her chair and walked over to her assistant, leaning over to gently shake her shoulder,
"Emily…. Come on, We've both got to get home."
"mmmm…. Five more minutes…."
Jeanne snorted a single laugh and decided to be a bit mean. She reached over and gently pinched her nose closed causing the woman to scrunch up her face and then snap awake with a gasp right as Jeanne let go,
"There we are. Sleep well?"
"I… fell aslee- OH MY GOD HOW IS IT ALMOST FIVE."
Jeanne hummed an agreement as the woman quickly got off the sofa and stood up before wincing and looking down at Jeanne who just smirked at her,
"You've been working hard so take it easy the next few days okay? Its a three day weekend after all. Do something fun for yourself."
"Yes Ma'a-"
"A simple yes is fine as I've said at least a hundred times by now. Go. I've got to get packed up."
Emily nodded rapidly and fastwalked out of her office as Jeanne watched her leave amused. She sighed and looked at her own stuff realizing she probably should have started packing half an hour earlier. She eventually got everything packed into her bag and opened her office door to see Emily sitting at her own desk just outside rapidly typing onto her keyboard clearing answering emails. She frowned and walked over to her assistant to reach over and gently pinch her ear. Emily yelped and whipped around,
"Emails can wait. If I'm leaving for the day so are you. I refuse to have my assistant work when I'm not. Come on."
Emily paused for a few seconds before smiling and nodding at her saying she'll finish the current email and meet her by the elevator. Jeanne nodded and walked to the elevator as she pulled her phone out of her pocket furrowing her brow at the lack of messages from Micheal.
He's probably just super busy. He did say he was swamped with classes at the Clocktower for the past month or so… Something about Waver being sick or something I think...
She shook her head and pocketed her phone as Emily came around the corner. They got into the elevator and rode it down to the ground floor in comfortable silence. After Emily had waved bye and left to get to her own train Jeanne had left the building to walk to the subway entrance. If she was being honest, even over three and a half years post-'disbandment' of Chaldea at the Clocktowers insistence, she was still getting used to the various facets of the modern day.
Trains and subways being one of them.
She got down to the subway platform and walked over to a bench to wait, pulling some wired earbuds out of her bag and plugging them into her phone as she qued up something to listen to while she waited. She eventually settled on a game soundtrack from a game she had been playing with Micheal and only had to wait for a few minutes before the subway train rolled to a stop. She got her bag and got onto a thankfully mostly empty train car sitting down again as she looked at the map and made a mental note of when she'd have to change lines before glancing at her phone again feeling that sense of worry grow.
Maybe I'll shoot him a message… just to be sure…
She opened her messaging app taking a moment to read their last set of messages to each other before she started tapping on her phones keyboard,
"Heya nerd. Just checking in since you've been quiet all day today. Work go okay? How are your students doing? I'm on the first subway home so I should be there in a little under an hour. See you soon."
She debated sending some heart emojis but decided against it as she fired off the message to her husband right as the train started moving. While she didn't get the best cell service while underground, something that Waver had explained to her before involving some wave thing seperate from mana but was just as everywhere, she found herself checking her phone every minute or two feeling that gnawing anxiety grow in her gut. She firmed her jaw and decided against taking the second train instead deciding to tap into her servant abilities just because it would mean getting home faster.
The subway stopped, she grabbed her bags, and quickly jogged above ground glancing at the street signs nearby before she looked around and walked quickly into a nearby alley as snow began to fall. After checking around to make sure no one was watching she tapped into her Avenger saint graph and grinned as she felt her servant abilities wake up while she felt mana flood her body. She quickly jumped to the top of one of the buildings and landed on the roof scaring the shit out of some pigeons but aside from that no one had seen her. She scanned the horizon for the building their flat was in, found it easily, and began to move across the rooftops making sure to move quickly enough that the average person wouldn't be able to properly see her.
She made one final jump and landed behind their building in the back alley where she dusted some of the snow off of her, adjusted her bag onto her shoulder, and fastwalked into the lobby. Nodding in response to the front desk worker greeting her she went to the elevator and paused as she was about to hit the button feeling that gnawing dread settle in her gut more firmly. She walked over to the stairwell and not sensing anyone mage or otherwise quickly tapped into her servant abilities again to jump straight up to the 11th floor where she reached out to grab the railing mid jump and swung herself over the railing and onto the stairs.
She placed her keycard against the reader on the door and then she was in the hallway that their apartment was on. Not even five seconds later she was in front of their door and fishing her key out of her bag when her intuition made her pause as she glanced at the door with narrowed eyes.
Its… not fully shut….
SHIT.
She slammed open the door, combat instinct blaring on full, and she took in the environment in half a second. Everything was where it should be so nothing was stolen but about half way to the stairs that led up to the second floor and their bedroom she spotted one of Micheals shoes on the floor. She fastwalked over, her heels clicking on the wooden floor, and kneeled down to pick up the shoe when she saw the matching shoe laying almost discarded a few stairs up. She turned the corner and saw that there were more clothes scattered up the stairs before she jumped up and cleared the rest of the stairs in a single movement to see their bedroom door wide open.
She ran to the door and saw her husband collapsed half onto their bed and she had used mana to shoot forward without thinking, rattling the furniture from the windshear, with her only thought being she had to get to her husband. She quickly got down next to him to see his eyes closed while his breathing seemed to be constricted,
A curse!? Or worse??
She grabbed his shoulder, making sure to dial back her servant strength, and shook him
"Micheal!? Open you eyes. Talk to me!!!"
He groaned and blearily opened his eyes to look at her his face breaking into a smile,
"Bonjour mon cheri… Welcome home…"
"Fuck all of that. What happened!?! Why are you like this!?!?"
He opened his mouth to respond when he coughed and Jeanne Alters mind went into panic mode at the sound of it since it sounded just like-
"I'm just sick sweetie. Probably caught whatever Waver had…"
"YOU'RE SICK!?! NO. I AM NOT LOSIN- GET IN BED."
She shouted as she physically dragged him onto the bed and rested her hand onto his forehead only for a lead weight to drop into her stomach.
He's burning up…. Shit.
She felt herself begin to tear up but willed her tears back,
"I am not losing you. Not after everything we went through. I am not-"
Micheal furrowed his brow at her in that way that normally made her chest fill with butterflies,
"Jeanne… sweetie. I'm just sick so-"
"YES AND YOU NEED TO BE HEALED. THIS MIGHT BE A CURSE OR A HEX OR-"
She froze as he looked at her with enough love that she could drown in it as he slowly cradled her cheek in his hand,
"Its not any of that. I really am-"
He coughed again and Jeanne felt fear race through her at the sound of it. He smiled at her,
"I really am just sick. I promise I'm fine."
"HOW IS YOU BEING SICK 'FINE'!?!?!?!"
She yelled as she stood up from beside the bed,
"You are resting and you are not to fall asleep. Understood? I'll go to a medicine store and get what I can- just- DO NOT FALL ASLEEP. I MEAN IT."
She ran downstairs to the door that led to their balcony as she quickly removed the jacket over her blouse and tossed it onto a nearby chair as she swapped to her Shinjuku dress and jacket in a flash of smokeless flames. She got to the balcony door before quickly turning around to fast walk back up to the bedroom her kneehigh boots clacking on the floor. She turned the corner and pointed a finger at her husband,
"I mean it. Do not fall asleep."
She then ran back to the balcony, yanked the door open, and quickly pulled up the local map she had memorized in her memory, remembering the vague direction that the apothecary or whatever the modern day equivalent was called. Nodding to herself she pulsed herself with mana and leapt off their balcony onto the roofs below and made her way to get medicine as the snow slowly fell harder.
The entire time she was moving she was flashing back to the memories of the original Jeanne d'Arc and how a simple cough would always lead to something worse usually crippling the person if not outright killing them. She ground her teeth together and sped up as she jumped down, onto the top of a mailtruck, and then off of that onto the roofs on the opposite side.
I am not losing him. Not now. Not ever.
She slowed down as she got to the area she had been going to and after looking around for a bit she found the small corner store by noticing the small emblem that she remembered meant it was a place that sold medicine.
Dropping down into an alley on the opposite side of the road, she tugged her fur jacket tighter as she felt the tempature drop around her while the snowflakes seemed to grow in size. She glanced at a nearby clock and saw that it had taken her the better part of an hour to find the shop and she hoped it wasn't closed. She quickly got across the street and almost wept when the doors slid open on their own with a jingle. Walking into the store her eyes bulged out of her head at the colors while the cashier did a triple take at her likely because of her hair and eyes. Something she had grown numb to over the years as she ignored their reaction and scanned the signs mounted to the ceiling before seeing a sign with "cold and flu" listed on it.
She did her best to walk casually in spite of her nerves as she turned the corner and her mouth fell open at the boxes that lined the shelves. She slowly walked into the aisle and knew instantly that she was completely out of her depth in what to even get or look for which of course is when her phone started ringing. She quickly silenced it and had narrowed her eyes to try and guess what she should get when her phone rang again. Stowing her irritation she pulled it out of her jacket pocket and saw it was a video call with the caller ID being 'Laughing Boy'. She ground her teeth together and answered,
"Look. Now is not a great time Edmond so-"
"Nice to see you too fire lady. How's work goin-"
He paused and narrowed his eyes looking behind her through his camera,
"Look I'm at the apothecary because Michea-"
"Why are you in the aisle with pregnancy tests. I thought you said you'd be a 'gods awful mom' and didn't want kids."
Her eyes widened and she whipped her head over her shoulder to see boxes clearly marked as those very same tests. She had just turned her head around to explain properly when she heard a crash from the background of Edmonds side of the call,
"JEANNE YOU'RE PREGNANT!?!?!?"
"IF I'M NOT THE GODMOTHER I SWEAR TO THE GODS YOU MOLDY BAGUETTE I WILL HAUNT YOUR ASS!"
Jeanne groaned as Gudako quickly snatched the phone from Edmond and then she along with Okita came into view both looking excited. She winced realizing she was about to crush that excitement but then sobered quickly remembering how she had found Micheal. She shook her head,
"I'm not- No. I'm not pregnant. Servants can't get pregnant remember? We don't- ugh no. Its Micheal and-"
Immediately Gudako went from excited to worried as Okita's face paled,
"Whats wrong."
"He's… He's sick and-"
She watched her annoyance growing as the two women on the other end both seemed relieved as they looked at each other. Okita said she'd go clean up the mess and left the view of the camera as Gudako sat down next to Edmond who came back into frame wrapping his arm around her,
"Okay? So you need meds right?"
Jeanne stared at her and her almost casual dismissal of how much danger Micheal was in,
"Gudako… He's sick. Really sick."
"So the flu? I mean not the worst but he's likely already feeling like shit due to his work load at the Clocktower."
She ground her teeth together,
"Gudako. Being sick kills people. Even a cough could- Look I just need help finding the fucking meds and the last thing I want to do is go running to Amelia."
Edmond tilted his head as Gudako huffed a single laugh,
"Yeah Mama Lafaire can be a bit intense when it comes to her son."
She blinked as though realizing something and then made an 'ohhhh' sound before she looked at Jeanne in understanding,
"You're thinking back to the Black Death aren't you? Back when a single cough-"
"Could wipe out an entire village, yes. So I'm more than a little bothered by the fact that you and Okita seem to not be bothered by this at-fucking-all."
Edmond furrowed his own brow, clearly confused as Gudako gave him a smile,
"Remember how you and Okita were when I got food poisoning a year or so ago?"
"YOU WERE POISONED!?!?!? WHY DIDN'T YOU LET MICHEAL OR ME KNOW!?!?!?!"
Jeanne yelled into the phone and then winced looking around to make sure no one had heard her before kneeling down out of sight as Edmond made an 'ohhh' sound himself before looking at her,
"Micheal's gonna be fine. Trust me Fire Lady. Medicine has come a long way since the 15th century. Its even further than when I was alive."
"I'm still worried even with that. I just… They're not even my memories but I keep mentally flashing back to… all of that and then I think of Micheal and-"
"Breathe Jeanne. He's gonna be okay. Genuinely. I promise."
Gudako said as Jeanne stared into the amber eyes of one of two now former Last Masters of Humanity. She closed her eyes, breathed in, held it, and then let it out before opening her eyes,
"What do I need to get."
"Are you in the cold and flu aisle?"
"Yes and for some reason its also where these damn tests are. You're not seriously expecting either of us to be parents are you?"
Gudako chuckled darkly,
"Me? Nope. Amelia?…."
She trailed off meaningfully as Jeanne groaned,
"Alright I need to focus. What should I get?"
"Depends on how stocked your medicine cabinet is…. And I'm guessing by the way you just flinched its not set up aside from the full emergency medkit."
Jeanne nodded and sighed,
"We've both been busy with work and frankly just having the time to be with each other is proving difficult. I was hoping to spend this holiday weekend with Micheal and just… be with him since we've not really had time to do that."
Edmond nodded understandingly,
"You only have each other so I get that. While I'm sure spending the next few days taking care of your husband isn't how you planned on spending time with him I know one thing for sure."
He looked at her meaningfully,
"There's not anyone else that Micheal Lafaire would rather have taking care of him in his time of need. You know all of this even more than I do."
She felt her face heat a bit before she flicked the camera around with a tap of her finger,
"So. Back on topic. What do I need to get."
Gudako's voice came over the phone,
"Okay so you see that bottle with the blue lid and the purple label? No, not that one. The one two to the right of the one you just went for…"
Jeanne quickly realized that she'd need a basket so she went to go get one and noticed that she was the only one in the store. Smiling apologetically at the cashier who just gave her a flat look in response she half jogged back to the cold and flu aisle to get the small pile she had left. Putting all of the pile into the basket she flipped the camera around again,
"Thanks… a bunch you guys. I…"
"You'll both be fine. You've been through worse."
Gudako smiled at her as Jeanne nodded and smiled back as Okita came into view on the camera with a sly grin as she practically shoved Edmond out of frame,
"If you have a sexy nurse outfit that might be fun~"
"Okita, he needs rest and anything involving stuff like that-"
Gudako said trying not to laugh as Jeanne felt her face burn,
"Ugh. Thanks again for the help you guys. Talk to you-"
"You'll both be fine. Trust him and trust yourself."
She paused as Edmond said while he came back into frame looking annoyed at the Saber servant who just laughed. She nodded,
"Yeah… Yeah. We'll be fine. Talk to you three morons later."
"Arson addict."
"Walking comedy act."
They both snorted a bit with laughter before they all said their farewells and Edmond hung up his end of the call. She took a breath to steady herself before she nodded to herself and grabbed the handles on the basket,
They're right. We've been through worse and come out fine.
She walked up to the counter and placed the basket on it. The cashier raised their eyebrows at what she was buying but thankfully didn't say anything as they scanned everything. She pulled her card out from the pocket on the back of her phone, tapped it to the reader, and once it was paid for everything was quickly bagged. The cashier walked just behind her to the doors and once Jeanne had walked through them she heard the key turn in them as the cashier closed the store.
She breathed out in the cold winter air, her breath visible, as she jogged back across the street and into the alley. Filling herself with mana she jumped back up onto the roof, making sure to stick the landing as the snow was now several centimeters deep, and then began to jump her way across the rooftops back to their building. She got back to their building in a much shorter time than she did leaving it if only because she could pick it out amongst the other tall buildings that made up their part of town. Pausing only for a moment on the rooftop of the small three story building she had landed on earlier she then jumped straight up and onto their balcony. She narrowly missed the small patio table that they had set out earlier that year and instead tripped over one of the chairs instead. She quickly regained her balance and slid open the door,
"Micheal? I'm back? ….Micheal?"
She walked into the kitchen to set the bags of medications onto the counter and dispelled her shinjuku outfit so she was back in her blouse and jeans. Frowning she walked back to their bedroom to see that her had rolled over onto his side,
"Micheal? Honey?"
She felt a chill run down her back when he didn't move in response to her voice. She ran over and grabbed his shoulder to turn him so he was facing up only to see him blearily open his eyes and yawn,
"I TOLD YOU NOT TO FALL ASLEEP."
She all but screeched at him as he gave her a look,
"Sleep… is good when you're sick so- Oh! Welcome home mon amour."
He tried to sit up on his elbows and she responded by pushing him back onto the bed with a glare,
"Stay here. Lay down. I will be back with the meds. You are not to fall asleep again."
He smiled that damn smile at her and chuckled hoarsely,
"Yes ma'am. I'll be here and be wide awake."
He coughed again and she felt that worry worm its way into her brain again as she stood up and moved to the kitchen to get the bags. She had just grabbed them all in one hand when she remembered that most pill based medications needed to be taken with some form of liquid. She quickly got a glass and filled it with water, grabbed the bags, and was back in the bedroom kneeling beside the bed as she emptied them.
"I… Gudako just told me to get a bunch of stuff so I'm not sure what or even how to help you take them…"
"Well to start with," Micheal said as he gingerly reached over to pick up one of the bottles she had set on the bedside table. He squinted at the label and then grinned at her, "You did an excellent job with all of this. Thanks for taking care of me and I promise to help or pay you back somehow later."
She blushed and pouted at him,
"Idiote. Just focus on getting better for right now. You can pay me back when your better by fucking away my ability to walk."
He chuckled again as she deepened her pout at him. He closed his eyes and leaned back onto the pillows to which she had just opened her mouth when,
"Not going to sleep. Don't worry. Just… trying to keep my eyes open and think through all of this is exhausting. As for the meds you got both types are meant to be taken at seperate times namely before bed and through out the day. Its a bit more involved than that but medically-"
"Yes, Yes, save the lecture for your students Professor Lafaire."
He snorted a single laugh and turned his head a bit while opening his eyes to watch her root through the bags,
"That one. No the small box with the purple front. Yes. That one."
She plucked out the box and had opened it before he could say anything else. She pulled out a bottle with a lid that was meant to be spun to open which she did only for the lid to click and spin in place. She narrowed her eyes at it when Micheal chuckled causing her to look at him,
"Press down on the lid and then spin it open."
She did just that and the lid came off revealing a small silver material over it. She quickly punctured it with her nail and poured a few vibrant purple pills fell into her palm. She looked at the bottle trying to find the correct amount Micheal should take when he took two of the pills out of her palm, popped them into his mouth, and had grabbed the water to take the medication before she could stop him.
She glared at him,
"And how do you know you took the proper amount if I'm the one that had the bottle."
He grinned at her and set the water back down onto the bedside table,
"Because I know that those meds are and two pills is the correct dosage for an adult. Did you forget who my mom was?"
She pouted at him and gently tapped her knuckles onto the top of his head before standing up,
"Anything else I should do?"
She asked as she moved over to their dresser and began to get undressed dropping her jeans to her ankles and stepping out of them before turning to toss them into the dirty clothes hamper when she caught her husband openly staring at her. She smirked at him,
"I know you're enjoying the show but you need to get better before either of us act on any of those feelings right now."
She said unbuttoning her blouse and letting it fall off her shoulders. She put that into the hamper as well and then took off her bra to put away when she noticed he was still staring. She turned to look at him and put a hand on her hip while arching an eyebrow,
"Its not like you've not seen me in both more and less than panties you know."
He blinked and seemed to come out of his thoughts as he smiled sheepishly,
"Sorry just… It occurred to me that I'm being taken care of by the most beautiful woman on the planet and I just got lost in those thoughts for a bit."
Jeanne's face heated a bit at his compliment as she pointed at him with her other hand,
"Rest."
She ordered to which he chuckled and laid back in the bed. Huffing a bit but smiling she put on one of her tanktops and then some lounge shorts before she moved back to the side of the bed. She reached over and ran her fingers through Micheals hair causing him to open his eyes and smile at her,
"What… else can I do in the meantime?"
He leaned into her hand a bit and hummed thinking,
"Food… might be too much for right now… but eventually some soup would help."
"What kind of soup? I'm assuming I can't just throw some canned stuff into the microwave."
He laughed a bit at this,
"It would work yes but we already got the stuff to make home made chicken soup remember? We had that whole debate about the value of onions in cold weather?"
She snorted a bit,
"I won that particular debate if I remember correctly but yes. The recipe you found online…?"
"Is printed and on the fridge but again: Food might be too much for me right now so…"
He patted the side of the bed next to him,
"I think you'll be more comfortable laying next to me instead of kneeling on the floor, non?"
She was tempted to be coy like she had been while she was changing for a second but eventually shelved that as she looked into her husbands tired face,
"….you promise you'll be fine if you go to sleep?"
He nodded,
"I promise."
She hesitated but got up and walked around to her side of the bed and slid under the covers to scoot closer to Micheal. She got an arm under his torso and wrapped her arms around him as she buried her face into his shoulder while her frayed nerves finally won as she began to tear up,
"I… I was so worried. I just kept-"
"Flashing back to Jeanne d'Arcs memories of the Black Death?"
He finished as he rolled over a bit so they were facing each other. She nodded and hugged him more tightly as she buried her face into his chest to hide her tears. After a few seconds,
"How did you know?"
He chuckled and wrapped an arm around her to pull her closer,
"Gudako gave me a call right after Edmond hung up. Gave me a summary on what happened and why you were so worried. ...Sorry. I should have remembered that…"
"That I'm from the 15th century and all this modern day stuff is confusing as shit?"
She half chuckled as she nuzzled his chest before remembering she was supposed to be taking care of him. She slid up so her face was level with his and pouted at him,
"I am supposed to be taking care of you not the other way around. You're sick."
He chuckled and winked at her,
"I am fully aware I'm sick. Trust me. Message received. I do want to rest a bit though… assuming thats okay?"
She nodded and he let out a sigh before settling down on his pillow and giving her another smile,
"Love you."
She felt butterflies in her chest as she pouted at him,
"Love you too. Now rest dammit."
It was only after she was certain that he was sleeping from his soft snores that she finally let her mask fall away as she turned over onto her back to stare at the ceiling. She dug her palms into her eyesockets until she saw stars and then let her hands fall to her sides,
"Fucks sake…"
She muttered to herself as she inhaled a deep breath to calm her nerves. After she had calmed herself down enough that she felt okay she sat up in the bed and watched her husband sleep. Not for the first time she felt a sense of thankfulness and awe that Micheal Lafaire was hers and hers alone. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them as she thought back to their journey and their choices together and apart that had led them to this point.
She smiled as she remembered something Amelia had said to her in an inn room in Glastonbury a lifetime ago,
"He'll wait for you longer than I would. We both know this."
She smiled to herself as she reached over to pull the covers up and over him properly,
"Thanks for waiting for me all that time and through everything Micheal… I love you more than I could ever properly put into words."
In response he snored a bit louder causing her to laugh as she looked at the bedside clock noticing that it was almost 9pm. She briefly thought about getting a shower but glanced at Micheal and decided against it. She laid back down and watched her husband sleep for a few minutes until she felt her eyelids getting heavy,
"See you tommorow Micheal…"
~~~~~~~~~
What woke her up first wasn't a nightmare or anything like that. It was the sound of Micheal vomiting. Her eyes snapped open and she quickly looked to their shared bathroom to see the lights on as she heard Micheal heave again. She shot out of bed and slammed open the door to see him bent over the toilet. She went over and knelt down next to him worried as he tilted his head to look at her,
"Might be a bit more sick than I thought… Skipping dinner seemed to be a good idea… urp-"
She frowned and rubbed between his shoulder blades until he was done. When he had finally sat back onto his hands she made a decision. She used a bit of her servant strength to pick him up and carried him back to bed where she sat him down on it. He smiled at her and laid back down as she pulled the sheets up and over him again,
"So? What triggered that?"
He thought about it and shook his head a bit,
"Likely whatever's making me sick. What time is it…"
She looked over him to the clock on her bedside table which read 5:24am. She told him the time and he groaned a bit,
"Sorry for waking you up Jeanne…"
"You can apologize by getting better. I'll get you one of the small trashcans from the office and some bags to put into it."
She stood up and quickly got those items before coming back. She set the bag in the bin and set it beside the bed before looking at him,
"I'm likely not going to be able to go back to sleep. You know this but…"
"You want to know what you can do to be useful?"
She nodded and waited on him to tell her just that. After a few seconds,
"Some water and… oatmeal would be good if only to get some nutrients in me. We should have some instant oatmeal in the pantry. Just follow the directions on the box and it'll be fine."
She nodded twice and stood up moving to the door but pausing to look back at him. He smiled at her and waved her off before she left to go to the kitchen to find the oatmeal. As she waited for the water to heat up she folded her arms and looked around the room to see if there was anything else she could do. Huffing a bit at not finding anything she adjusted the stovetop burner to a low flame and reread the instructions on the box for the oatmeal.
"I swear Modern day stuff is its own kind of magic…"
She muttered as the water finished heating and she poured it over the powdery mix of oats, barley, and whatever else had been in the packet she had poured into a bowl. She glanced at the box again and then looked at the bowl wondering if she should add some salt when she shook her head,
"He'll tell me if he wants anything like that."
She got one of their tv trays, put the bowl onto it with a spoon, and after getting a glass of water onto it she walked it back upstairs to see Micheal laying in bed on his phone. He looked over at her as she motioned with the tray causing him to sit up as best he could. She walked over and placed the tray on to the mattress and had a thought,
"...You don't need me to feed you do you?"
He arched an eyebrow at her as she blushed a bit,
"Unless you want to I am still capable of feeding myself hun."
He got some of the oatmeal onto the spoon and carefully ate it as she sat on the edge of the bed watched him nervously. He swallowed,
"Its good. Thanks."
She let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding and slumped a bit in her spot only to look up and glare at him as he chuckled,
"You're doing an awesome job. I mean it."
She pulled a knee up and rested her cheek on it so she could look at him still,
"I just wish I could… I don't know. Do more than just this."
"You and every other Doctor and health professional."
She hummed an agreement and had a thought,
"Were you ever sick like this as a kid?"
He paused and tilted his head to think a bit,
"I…. think… so. Its difficult to seperate both sets of memories if I'm being honest. Apparently it has to do with what happened to me in the seconds before I woke up from my coma."
"You mean how your soul is a stitched together mashup of three separate souls. Well… Mash up or not the man I fell in love with is the one I met so I like you the way you are."
She said puffing her chest out a bit and grinning at him as he chuckled a bit,
"I'm glad I'm me too… Even after everything."
"What was it again from that game you had me play? 'At the end you're still yourself?'"
"Close. Its 'Even after everything you're still you.' and its from Undertale. Speaking of while I can't go out and do stuff I'm sure we could still enjoy our three day weekend from home you know. I still need to have you watch Life of Brian."
She snorted a laugh,
"I feel like it would be funnier to have had my sister watch it with us."
Micheal's face paled at that causing Jeanne to laugh as she felt a weight lift off her heart. Smiling a bit she stood up and glanced at the dirty laundry hamper noting it was full enough to warrant doing. She looked back at her husband,
"Are you going to be okay long enough for me to do the laundry?"
He swallowed some more oatmeal and nodded giving her a thumbs up before being able to speak again,
"We should also wash the bedsheets once I'm well enough to leave the bed."
She tilted her head,
"We just washed them last week."
He nodded,
"Yup but its something my mom-", He paused a bit as he likely went through the memories to make sure he was talking about the correct mom, "Yeah okay it is her. It's something Amelia would do whenever anyone got sick be it me or one of her patients in any of the hospitals she would work in. Some viruses and bacteria can linger on fabrics so the idea with washing them is-"
"Is that you're preventing reinfection. That makes perfect sense. Alright then, let me get the laundry started and you let me know when you feel ready enough to leave the bed. I'll help you downstairs and get you on the sofa."
He nodded and went back to his oatmeal as she went to grab the hampers with their dirty clothes. Picking them up and carrying them down the stairs she turned the corner at the bottom of the stairs and walked past their kitchen to a door a bit further down. She placed the hampers on the floor and opened the door to their laundry room where she checked the machines and the amount of detergent they had left.
I wonder if normal detergent is fine or if I need to get a special detergent….
As she turned around she heard Micheal calling for her. She felt that worry immediately only for him to yell that he was fine but her phone was ringing. She breathed a sigh of relief, once again happily noting that he had anticipated her immediate thoughts, and went back upstairs to grab her phone. She got into their bedroom to see he had finished his oatmeal as well. She walked around to her side of the room and quickly stuffed her phone into the band of her shorts over her hip before walking back around to take the tray causing Micheal to grumble a bit. She stuck her tongue out at him,
"You can worry about taking your dishes to the sink when you're not bedridden or sick. Got it?"
He frowned at her and she smirked at him before walking out of the room and back down the stairs. She washed out his bowl and stuck it in their dishwasher making sure to put it into its correct spot on the top rack, then washed off and dried the tray before putting it back when she remembered the reason she had gone back upstairs in the first place. She pulled out her phone and checked her missed calls to see Gudako had called her. She tapped the name 'Last Master #2' and then tapped the video call button as she walked back to the laundry room. Gudako picked up on the third ring and grinned at her,
"So Nurse Lafaire hows your patients prognosis?"
Jeanne snorted a bit with laughter and set her phone up onto a shelf in the laundry room so they could see each other while she did the laundry,
"The prognosis is that he's fine."
"See? Actually as we were all cuddling in bed Okita was curious about something."
"hm?"
"Is this the first time since Chaldea ended that he's gotten that sick or sick at all?"
Jeanne frowned as she began to seperate the laundry into whites, blacks, and colors while thinking,
"There… was that one time after the fourth Lostbelt where he came down with a cold. Between Medea, Nightingale, Asclepius, and the medical staff he was diagnosed and cured within the hour."
"Still wild to me that the cure for the common cold is actually chedder cheese. Sure its chedder cheese mixed with medicinal plants but still… anyway, How are you holding up? You doing alright?"
Jeanne sighed and paused to think for a few seconds before answering,
"Still… worried but not in the same way as before. Its more of a general worry than anything else. Oh he threw up this morning which woke me up but aside from that he's been mostly fine."
"Has he managed to eat anything and keep it down?"
"I made some instant oatmeal earlier and he managed to eat all of it so yeah I think so."
They fell into silence for a bit during which Jeanne had started filling their washing machine with the white laundry,
"Hey Jalty?"
"hm?"
"...Do you miss them at all? Your sisters I mean?"
She stopped and frowned a bit,
"...Yeah. I do miss them. I miss a lot of the people from Chaldea, Servants and humans both, but… I miss my sisters a bit more. Why?"
"I was training with Okita and during it I was reminded of how Ryujin used to spar with me and just… how supportive she always was."
Jeanne thought back to the redheaded servant and felt her lips curving into a smile that Gudako clearly caught,
"What."
She shook her head a bit,
"Just thinking that Ryujin would think you missing her would be cute is all."
Gudako groaned,
"Fuck she would wouldn't she? Gods…."
"Speaking of missing Servants, How's Okita doing? I know she had just gotten back everyone when they all had to leave."
She glanced at her phone to see that Gudako had turned thoughtful,
"Its… difficult to tell most days honestly. As you know with Micheal after Chaldea disbanded all of your guys Master-Servant contracts were transformed into a contract with the Earth itself. Its why you guys never need mana since you're effectively supplied it 24/7 by the planet itself. Saito and the rest of the Shinsengumi…"
She trailed off for a few seconds before she smiled a bit,
"I think they wanted her to have her own life even if they weren't there to live it with her. There are some mornings where I find her watching the rising sun from the porch by herself. So… I think she's doing fine but odds are she misses them like how I miss Ryujin and you miss your sisters. Oh! Speaking of, hang on-"
Gudako picked up her phone and the view Jeanne had turned into rapid movement as she got up to move. Turning back to the laundry she finished loading in the whites and had just poured in the detergent when Gudako spoke up. She turned to look at the screen and froze at the image being shown. It was a page in a scrapbook but what Gudako was clearly trying to show her was a group photo. Jeanne reached over and picked up her phone as she looked at the Group photo that she, Gudako, Okita, Micheal, Edmond, alongside her older sister and Morgan had had taken of them. In the background was a massive waterfall that stretched into the distance of the photo.
The camera flipped back around to show Gudako's smiling face,
"I was going through the stuff that we brought back from Chaldea and found my scrapbook. So I was flipping through it and-"
"Found the picture we took of ourselves at Niagara Falls."
Jeanne said her own face breaking into a smile as she remembered the microsingularity that brought them there. Much like the one with the Kamano Inn it was a singularity that would have resolved itself within a week or two but they had all been sent regardless on the off chance it was more like the Kumano Inn singularity than they could tell.
"I also distinctly remember Edmond and Micheal trying to… barrel surf off the falls as well."
Gudako snorted a laugh,
"Yes and then Morgan went full mom-mode on the both of them. Had them kneeling and everything."
"I remember."
Jeanne said laughing a bit,
"Speaking of how's Morgan doing? I haven't had the chance to talk with her at all and the last thing I had heard was that Eleanor was considering handing over her seat as one of the Fourteen Lords to her."
"Amelia would be the person to ask about that honestly. Morgan was against the idea to begin with just on the grounds that even though she was from a Lostbelt she was still Morgan le Fay. So the idea of taking the Pendragon Lords seat was 'out of the question'."
Jeanne arched an eyebrow at the orange haired woman,
"That was quite the British Accent you put on there."
"Yeah well I'm shocked that Micheal still has his french accent given what he does and where he does it."
"Its not like you do much different Gudako."
Jeanne said raising her eyebrows as she smirked,
"Or should I say 'Professor Doctor S. Dantes'."
Gudako groaned and fell backwards out of frame. Her voice came over the phone,
"One day you're all going to get tired of doing that."
She rolled her eyes as Gudako sat back up into frame with a pout,
"You're the one who decided to marry both Okita Souji and Edmond Dantes THEN decide that you wanted to become a Doctor while also working at the Clocktower as a Professor of Conjury and Runes. Frankly I don't see how the fuck you have time to sleep between both of those."
Gudako chuckled darkly,
"Yeah except that both of my partners make damn sure I get eight hours whether I want to or not. Thanks again for being one of my bridesmaids by the way. I know you were a bit out of your element with all of that."
"If anything it gave me an idea of what my own wedding would look like or at least the chaos involved with preparing it. Your and Okitas dresses were gorgeous by the way."
Gudako blushed a bit and coughed into her fist,
"So? When are you both going to have the ceremony? You keep calling him your husband but I've yet to see anything beyond the ring he gave you."
This time it was Jeannes turn to blush,
"We've…. Talked about it a bit. We also know who we want to preside over it since we all know how I am with priests but beyond that… not much."
"oh? And who is that?"
"Morgan."
Gudako's mouth fell open and then she started laughing,
"Oh thats brilliant. Its even better if she assumes the Lordship beforehand. Does Morgan know you want her to do that?"
"Micheal plans on asking her when we go to Avalon in a few months so he can train his Witchcraft more. I've scheduled the PTO already and he's gotten the time off approved."
"Good, Good. I do hope you'll let Okita and myself help you with your dress thoug-"
Gudako blinked as though a thought occurred to her,
"Wait. Who's going to walk you down the aisle?"
Jeanne grinned at Gudako,
"My Older sister. Micheal thinks he's found a way to get her out of where she is right now."
Gudako's mouth fell open and she was stunned into silence as they both heard Edmond calling for her. She leveled a look at her across the call,
"I expect to be let into this plan as soon as you both know what needs to be done. That Fourth Ordeal Call was utter horseshit."
Jeanne grinned evilly as Edmond called out again,
"Yes. It was and we were hoping you'd be on board. Talk to you later?"
"Yup. Later!"
"Au revoir Gudako."
She reached up, tapped the red end call button, and then started the washing machine making sure the door was fully closed before leaving the laundry room. She walked out into the living room and once again looked for something to occupy her time or to do when she decided to check on Micheal before deciding to do anything. She went back upstairs and entered their bedroom to find Micheal laying on his doing something on his phone with headphones on. He glanced over, grinned, and took off the headphones,
"So whats up with Gudako?"
"Wanted to make sure you weren't dead or dying and that I wasn't a sobbing mess."
She said with a smug smile as he nodded his head sagely,
"Truly a friend and ally you can count on."
He said solemnly and after a few seconds of silence they both started laughing as she went over to sit on the bed again. She glanced at his phone and he turned it so she could see he was watching a music video. He offered the headphones to her but she shook her head and looked meaningfully at the bedsheets,
"Think you're good enough to move to the sofa? I've got one load started and I'd rather get the laundry done all in a row if possible."
Micheal nodded and slowly sat up as though moving hurt,
"Still sore as shit all over… I might need help getting downstairs assuming you don't carry me."
She arched an ashwhite eyebrow as her lips curled into a grin,
"...I know that grin. Whatever you're thinking be gentle, I'm sick."
"Fufufufufufu~ but of course my beloved husband! I would never not be gentle with you in your time of need...~"
She laughed as she moved off the bed and let some mana pulse off of her before she got her arms under Micheal and lifted him in a bridal carry off the bed,
"Oh you think you're real funny."
He groused at her from his spot in her arms as she stuck her tongue out at him,
"I am hilarious and you know it."
She moved them carefully down the stairs and set him on the sofa making sure he had a few pillows to rest on before she stood upright and looked at her husband smugly,
"There. Now I can get the sheets off the bed."
"Yeah, Yeah. You know I was hoping you'd get the crutches right?"
"Fully aware of that fact."
"...Smartass.
"The Smartest~ Be right back."
She winked at him and moved back upstairs to their bedroom to quickly get the sheets off the bed. She got the pillowcases off, removed the topsheet, and then pulled on the corners of the bottom sheet causing it to come off the bed. Grabbing all of it in her arms she moved downstairs and got it into the laundry room to wait to be washed before going back upstairs to grab new bedsheets out of the linen closet. After putting those on the bed and grabbed Micheals phone and headphones which he had dropped when she had picked him up and went back downstairs. She held up his phone and he grinned at her,
"I was just about to shout up there to see if you could grab that. Thanks sweetie."
"mhm, anything else I can do?"
He paused and seemed to think for a bit before nodding to himself,
"I think trying something a bit more than oatmeal is worth a shot. Nothing major mind you."
"So like a sandwich?"
"maybe if all I would want is meat, cheese, and bread. You've seen my sandwich order."
She folded her arms and moved to sit in a nearby chair thinking to herself,
"True. Hmmmm…"
She glanced at the clock and saw it was a bit before noon then had an idea,
"Maybe some of the pasta salad we made the other night?"
He leaned back into the pillows thinking for a few seconds,
"That might work, yeah. A small amount though not a full bowl."
She nodded,
"So one of the salsa bowls maybe?"
"yeah, yeah that would work."
She got up from her chair and moved into the kitchen noting that Micheal turned to watch her from over the back of the sofa. Their kitchen and Living room was in really one big room with one side about 20cm lower than the other. The kitchen was on the taller section and was fully furnished at Micheals insistence. It had been one of the non-negotiables when they had been apartment browsing earlier that year and she was glad for it now as she got the covered bowl with the pasta salad out of the fridge before getting a sticky note and a marker.
She got out one of their small dipping bowls and, after opening the container with the pasta salad, spooned some out and into the small bowl. She then got some water onto her fingertips and flicked that onto the salad mixture before putting it into the microwave under a papertowel. While it was reheating she covered the rest of the salad and peeled off a sticky note to write the current date on. She paused about to reach for her phone when,
"January 16th"
She looked up to see Micheal looking at her. She nodded her thanks and wrote down the date onto the note before putting the container into the fridge right as the microwave dinged. Taking the small bowl carefully out of the microwave she stirred it a bit and then got some onto a finger to taste. She smiled and got a spoon from the drawer before walking it over to Micheal,
"Alright its good to eat so eat as much as you feel you can, okay?"
"Yup."
He said stabbing into the salad with the spoon and getting a spoonful into his mouth followed by him humming happily. She sat back down in her chair and tried to relax as her leg bounced which Micheal noticed as he lowered his bowl and looked at her,
"Still trying to think of stuff to do to make yourself useful?"
She sighed and leaned her head back onto the chair,
"Its just… hard to disengage that part of my brain is all. You know how I am. You'd think it would be super easy to just sit here and do nothing but it just- ugh…"
He smiled at her and jerked his thumb at their TV,
"I think we still had a round or two left in Street Fighter."
She glanced over at the TV and saw that the small cube Micheal had gotten a bit after they had moved in had a small muted blue line pulsing across the bottom of it. She sighed and looked at him,
"As much as I would love to beat your ass in Street Fighter thats likely too intense for you right now."
He frowned and moved his arm experimentally before sighing,
"Yeah okay."
"Playing a game does sound good though. Whats that game we were playing co-op in? The one where you were making our home base and I was out exploring and killing monsters."
"Terraria. Also 'exploring' is doing a lot of work in that sentence. You fell into lava and died like 16 times."
"It was 9 times and two of those were because you pushed me you ass."
She said with fake annoyance as she smiled and stood up to grab their respective controllers from the charging station they had under the TV. She handed the white and silver one to Micheal who pulled his legs up and adjusted himself so he was sitting facing the TV. She sat down next to him with her own black and purple controller while grabbing the remote to turn on the TV.
They spent the next several hours playing various games until Micheal glanced at the clock on the wall of the flat during a cave exploration they were both in the middle of and whistled a bit. She frowned, annoyed at the distraction, and killed the rest of the bees,
"Shit its almost 5pm."
She blinked and looked over at the clock to see he was right. She sighed and rolled her shoulders a bit to loosen them before standing up,
"Feel like the chicken soup still?"
He grinned at her,
"I'd love anything you cook Mrs. Lafaire."
She snorted a laugh and rolled her eyes as she smiled and walked back up and into the kitchen. She found the recipe easily enough and started on the soup. A little over half an hour later the smell of chicken soup had filled the apartment and her mouth was watering a bit as she finished the final step and turned the heat down on low to keep the soup warm more than anything else.
"How much do you want?"
She asked Micheal who took off his headphones so she could ask the question again,
"A normal bowlful please."
She raised her eyebrows,
"You sure?"
he grinned at her,
"Yup. Not just because its you who made it either. Chicken soup is one of the best things to kick the flu's ass."
She grinned back and made them both a bowl, making sure to put a couple ice cubes into her own, and then walked them over to hand Micheal his while she sat down in the same chair from earlier. They ate in comfortable silence when Micheal paused eating,
"Thank you by the way."
She paused and looked at him to see he was looking at her seriously,
"For?"
"For… taking care of me and everything. I'm sure you had plans for this holiday weekend and me getting the flu smashed them to pieces. So… sorry and… Thanks."
She smiled at him,
"I didn't have any plans beyond wanting to spend time with you since we've not been able to do that lately. Sure it didn't happen in the way I would have liked but I have gotten to do just that. Also you'd do the same for me. In fact, you'd be even worse because of your medical background thanks to your mom."
He groaned and leaned his head back onto the sofa,
"We need to keep the fact I had the flu a secret from my mom. The last thing I need is her kicking in our door and going full medical momma bear on me."
Jeanne huffed a chuckle at that and they went silent again,
"You're welcome."
The setting sun came through the window and illuminated the both of them as jeanne's breath caught in her throat as the light reflected off of Micheals ash white hair while making his golden eyes sparkle a bit. He smiled at her,
"Love you."
She smiled back as she knew what he was doing as she said what she had said while they stood hand in hand on top of the Storm Border with everyone else and performed a Miracle to end all Miracles together.
"To the ends of time and back?"
She asked and she knew he'd say his response back now like he did then,
"Always and forever. I'm yours and you're mine. From now until the ends of time itself and beyond, We're together."