Page 34 of Once Upon A Bear

She couldn’t imagine what would have happened if she hadn’t heard him…but being there to help didn’t change the fact that he’d gotten hurt because she’d pushed him away.

Chapter fourteen

Gideon

Gideon woke up on the floor of Guinevere’s cottage in his human form, with bandages wrapped around his ankle and a weakness he didn’t expect.

Apparently bandages shifted with his body size the same way his clothing did.

“What happened to me?” he asked, struggling to sit up. His body felt sluggish, and not in an injured way.

“I gave you a sleeping potion,” Guinevere said from where she was sitting at her kitchen table, slumped over slightly. “I didn’t want you to be awake while I was stitching you up.”

She couldn’t quite meet his eyes.

“Were you afraid I’d hurt you?” he asked softly.

She looked at him, anguish filling her face. “No, Gideon,” she said, crossing the room slowly to kneel next to him. “I didn’t think you would hurt me. I was afraid the pain might make your legs move of their own volition, and I didn’t have anyone here to help hold you down.”

“So you were worried that I’d hurt you.” There was a lump in his throat.

She reached out and took his hand in hers. “I know that the Gideon in here would never hurt me.” She tapped her other hand on his chest, and he could feel his heart beating faster at the thought that she’d been afraid of him. “Yes, I was unsure if the bear instincts would react to the pain of being stitched up, and I didn’t have an assistant here to help me if your leg jerked while I was trying to help you. But it was necessary to make sure I took care of your injuries properly, not because I’ve ever been afraid of you.”

As much as he wanted to believe her, he found it hard to.

“I can see you overthinking,” she said softly, squeezing his hand. “I wasn’t afraid of you. It doesn’t mean I wasn’t aware of what someone in pain can do. Had you been in your human form, I might have done the same thing.”

He frowned at her.

“Well, probably not,” she admitted, “since your human form is so much smaller than your bear form, and human feet don’t have long claws. But I promise I was not afraid of you.”

Gideon couldn’t quite believe her, but he wouldn’t lie and say that he didn’t enjoy having her this close.

Then she grinned mischievously, if a bit weakly. “Your heart is beating at a good pace,” she said, taking her hand away. “I think you’ve come out of it successfully. You should be safe to go home.”

Gideon didn’t want to go home. He wanted to stay here with her, where he felt safe, where he felt like he could be himself.

But that seemed like a bit much to ask of her. She probably wanted some peace and quiet, not to spend more time taking care of him, even if all he wanted was to stay.

“Thank you for taking care of me,” he said. “I know you didn’t have to.”

Guinevere actually laughed at him, though it seemed to take more effort than he would have expected.

“Didn’t have to?” she asked. “I’m a healer, Gideon. I don’t know what you think that means—”

He laughed a little, which surprised her so much she stopped talking.

Of course she thought she had to take care of everyone.

She was a better person than he was. If someday he could be more like her, perhaps—

Well, it was better if he didn’t think about that.

“Let’s take off your shoe and make sure that whatever magic makes your clothes transform also applies to bandages and stitches,” she said.

Gideon obliged, taking off his shoe so Guinevere could unwrap the bandage and inspect her handiwork. He looked down at the neat stitches around his ankle as she gently rotated his ankle.

It didn’t hurt.