Experiment in Terror 09 Dust to Dust(31)

“That it’s not over?”

“Yeah.”

He eased himself up, propping himself on his elbows. I sat up, bringing the sheet over my hips and stomach, still self-conscious at times despite everything.

He pursed his lips. “I know Ginger Balls is sticking around for a reason. I may not agree with his mere existence on this planet, but I have to admit his intuition is pretty spot-on sometimes.”

“And your intuition? What is it saying?”

He raised his brow. “That I’m supposed to remember something really fucking important and the fact that I can’t recall anything except this vague idea of his face and voice is making me feel like I’ve fallen down the shitter and I can’t get out. It’s dark and it smells and I want to scream but I can’t because if I do, I’m getting shit in my mouth.”

“That’s a hell of analogy.”

He shrugged. “It’s a hell of a feeling.”

I couldn’t help but smile. He grinned right back and I felt a rush down my spine, that butterfly feeling that I still got when he smiled at me. I couldn’t love this guy more.

Then his smile fell a bit and something dark came across his face. “Perry,” he said.

I stiffened, wondering what was next. “Yeah?”

“You know I didn’t keep all that Maximus stuff from you because I was ashamed or I didn’t want you to be in the loop. I always want you in the loop, kiddo. You are my loop.”

“I know, I get it.”

“It was more that I couldn’t think of the right time,” he continued. “And I couldn’t imagine it would ever be relevant. Sometimes…the heavier and more crazy the subject, the harder it is to bring up. You know how that is.”

I frowned at him. What was he getting out now? “I do…”

He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. “So, it’s not a matter of keeping stuff from you. It’s a matter of deciding how and when to talk about it. In this exact case, I just didn’t know when it would be a good time.”

“And I’m sure it didn’t help that it wasn’t your secret to tell,” I said, trying to alleviate some of the burden he suddenly seemed to bring on himself. “It didn’t really involve me. It was about you guys.”

“Yeah,” he said but his voice wavered. I stared at him for a moment, wondering what else was on his mind, until I noticed a trickle a blood coming out from his nose.

I jerked back. “Oh god, Dex, your nose.”

He sat up straighter and ran his fingers underneath his nose. He stared down at them, shiny and red with blood. “Huh,” he said, staring at it in awe. “That’s weird.”

I scrunched up my face. “Totally weird. You don’t normally get them, do you?”

He shook his head and the blood poured out harder, spraying onto the sheets. He let out a gruff cry and I shot out of bed, grabbing the nearest box of tissue paper and bringing it over to him.

I scrunched up a wad and shoved it under his nose. “Easy now,” he said, his voice nasally. “I’m all you for playing nurse and all, but you know you have to wear the uniform.”

“I’m naked, what more do you want?”

He grinned and I put my hand behind his head, holding him in place as I tried to stop the bleeding. He eyed me. “You know, if you had told me that Michael was an alien, this would make a lot more sense. Alien abduction victims are always complaining about nosebleeds and lost time.”

“Don’t you dare even mention aliens,” I warned him.

He smiled and I only pressed the tissue harder. “Aliens? You have a problem with them, Scully?”

“Yes, Fox Mulder,” I told him earnestly. “I do. They freak the hell out of me. I can’t even.”

“So all this time, you brush off ghosts and demons and sasquatch but it’s aliens that really get under your skin, huh?” When I didn’t say anything, he clicked his tongue. “Well, you learn something new every day.”

“And I’m learning that you have an awful lot of blood up your nose,” I told him, tossing the blood-soaked wad aside and applying fresh new ones. “Good thing you don’t seem to be squeamish, or I’d say when I get pregnant, you should definitely avoid the delivery room.”

The air around us seemed to still. Dex sucked in his breath through his teeth and his eyes immediately left mine, focusing on a bloody spot on the sheets. I immediately felt a bit stupid for mentioning the pregnancy thing. I wasn’t sure why. I mean, we were getting married. It was pretty much a given that at some point in our marriage, I would be pregnant, or would at least be trying to be. Maybe not in the immediate future – I was still young and my biological clock wasn’t really kicking me yet – but it wasn’t unreasonable to start planning on it.