Trey awoke slowly with the pleasant sense of a body beside him. 
"'Phelia," he muttered sleepily before the events of the past month, and
the past few days, hit him.  He opened his eyes and took in the form of
his companion.

Diana.

Fear crept in slowly.  It was too soon.  Too soon for him, certainly too
soon for her.  Her mate had been dead, what, less than a week?

He sat for a few moments just watching her, mulling over what he would do
or say when she awoke, debating whether to wake her or let her awaken on
her own.  He decide to let her awaken on her own and arose from the bed as
quietly as possible, she stirred slightly and muttered his name and he
froze until her breathing told him she was still asleep.  He slipped into
his clothing and into the kitchen, where he occupied his mind with
breakfast.  Flour, sugar, milk, spices, soda... a sweetcake and tea.  It
seemed silly to meet her at the Dining Hall now.

As the aromas filled the kitchen, he heard her stir.

Diana slipped back to sleep after she felt the warmth move but the next
thing she knew sweet aromas were filling the air. She stretched, looked
around her and sat upright in bed as she remembered the previous night. 
"Trey?" she called out.

He steeled himself at the sound of her voice.  "In the kitchen," he called
out, "where I belong, as per our conversation last night."

Diana slid out of bed and pulled on her shirt and headed for the kitchen. 
She saw him standing there looking awkward, hair still rumpled from last
night.  He looked worried.

He watched her enter, still unsure what to say.  "Ummm... good morning. 
Sleep well?"  It seemed an infinitely stupid question, he realised.

"Trey," she said, walking towards him, "It's all right."

He let out the breath he didn't realise he'd been holding.  "Look, Diana,
I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to pressure you.  I just..."

"Trey, you didn't pressure me.  Last night, we were two friends who needed
each other." Diana paused in front of him and looked up at him.  She
reached up and stroked the side of his face.

He took her hand.  "I'm sorry.  It really was too soon... at least... to
me."

"Trey, it was too soon for anything more than it was."  Diana paused. 
"Last night we both needed comfort, I don't expect it to be more than that
or even to occur again."

He smiled lightly.  "Okay.  It's... damnit, I'm no good at this.  Look,
I... I'm still in love with Ophelia and I know it sounds crazy, but I
don't want to fall in love with anyone else... and... sometimes things
just get... too close for me.  I'm sorry."

"I know you are still in love with Ophelia, just as I still love Darrin
and miss him horribly."  Diana paused and her lower lip started to tremble
as she held back tears. "But last night....  last night I needed someone
to hold me and comfort me and want me."  She looked up at him fearfully. 
"Please don't push our friendship away because I lost control."

Trey flinched at the look.  It was too much like what he had been seeing
recently from his wingmen, from his family.  "No, no, not that, Diana. 
That's not what I meant.  You didn't lose control.  I did."

"Trey, I could have said no.  Maybe even should have, but I needed you." 
Diana trembled, needing him to hold her and let her know it would be all
right.  But she was afraid to push him, push him beyond what he was
willing to give.

He reached out and tentatively pulled her to him.  "I'm sorry.  I've hurt
you like I've hurt everyone else recently.  Just forgive me.  Please."

Diana melted into his arms and started to cry. She was so lonely and
afraid to lose a friendship that had somehow very quickly become very
important to her. She heard him thru her tears asking for forgiveness. 
"Oh, Trey, there is nothing to forgive. Just please don't push me away,"
Diana sobbed.

"I won't.  I promise.  I'm sorry.  I'm just so damned afraid."

Diana choked down her sobs. "You afraid?  Of what?"
 
"Of feeling.  Of losing everything again.  Of myself.  Of losing control. 
You don't know what I've done, Diana.  I can't even tell you."

"Trey, I am afraid too-- of losing also, of betraying Darrin, of giving my
heart and having someone stomp on it.  But last night... last night it
felt right.  I needed you and you needed me.  There is nothing wrong with
that."  Diana paused.

She wondered what he meant by what he had done. Her mind wandered back
over the conversation last night. All of a sudden a look of shock and
surprise came to her eyes.

"Diana, are you all right?" he asked, truly frightened now.

"Trey, how did you hurt Laria?" she asked  quietly.

He was trembling now.  He pulled away, hugging himself to try to keep his
body from shaking.  Hot tears were welling up and he suddenly couldn't
breathe.  "Oh, gods... Laria... oh, gods..." his voice died in a sob.

Diana pulled him back to her and held him. "Trey....oh god, Trey.  It will
be all right. She stroked his hair and held him, continuing to murmur,
"Its all right."

Diana knew in her heart what Trey had done. She suddenly knew how very
sick he had been and the awful ghosts that were haunting him. All she
wanted was to make everything all right for him, and she knew she
couldn't.

The room was spinning and he hardly heard her.  His mind was back in time
to that horrible event.  He remembered his daughter, curled into a corner,
sobbing, as he casually fastened his belt.  He remembered considering
whether it would not be better to kill her then and there.  But some small
portion of sanity prevented it.  The smell of sweetrolls was suddenly
cloying and he felt extremely ill.

Diana saw in Trey's eyes that he was reliving the horror. "Trey," she
pleaded, "Trey, come back.  Please come back."

"Gods, I just wanted to die... just die..."

"Oh Trey, I am so sorry....."  Diana just wanted to make him not hurt so
and she didn't know what to do.  She continued to hold him and stroke his
hair.

He felt his knees give out suddenly.  Roth was yelling to him.  Diana was
trying to keep him there, but his mind was slipping away to blackness. 

Diana felt him sliding to the floor and knew he was collapsing.  "Trey!" 
she yelled, but got no response.  <Zena! get help!  Please call for help!>

Roth felt his rider slipping away and remembered.  In the excitement of
the evening, Trey had forgotten his medication.  <Zena,> he said, <he will
be fine.  It is a seizure.>

Diana sat on the floor with Trey's head cradled in he r arms, very afraid. 
Zena spoke into her mind, <Koroth says he will be fine, Diana. Its a
seizure and he forgot his medication.>

Diana calmed somewhat.  <Ask Koroth if there is anything I can do.>

<They are not the limb-jerking kind of seizure, that I've seen, though you
should watch to make sure.>

<What else can I do?> she asked when Zena had relayed the information.

<Just hold him,> Roth sent to Zena.  Even as he spoke, he felt his rider's
stirring.

Diana felt Trey stir in her arms.  "Trey?  Trey....are you all right?"

He swam up from the murky waters of unconsciousness to the smell of
cinnamon and the feel of her arms around him.  The words she spoke seemed
a long way away and he struggled to answer them.  "Diana?" he finally
managed.

"I'm here Trey. I am here," she said as she stroked his hair and held him.

"Sorry," he choked.  "C-c-could you check the rolls.  They should be
done."

Diana rolled her eyes.  "You silly man.  Here I think you are dying on me
and you are worried about rolls."

He grinned weakly.  "Someone's gotta make sure breakfast doesn't burn." 
In truth he wanted a moment to clear his head and inventory what had just
happened. 

Diana slowly eased eased him into a sitting position and let her arms fall
away from him. She checked to make sure he was steady before she stood up
and headed for the oven.

<You forgot your medicine,> Koroth chided him.

Trey nodded, but his outer calm belied a panic within.  Seizures.  He
hadn't had a seizure since the operation.  Could it be so soon?

<Koroth, promise me you won't let me get out of control this time,> he
pleaded.

<There won't be a 'this time,' Trey.  You just forgot your medicine.>

<Promise me, Roth, please.>

<I promise, Trey, I promise.>

She walked over to the oven and grabbed a hotpad, pulled the rolls out and
set them on top of the stove. She then turned to look at him.  She noticed
the look in his eyes, almost panicky. "Trey? are you all right?"

He looked at her, almost guiltily.  "I... I don't know.  I'm scared."

She walked over to him and again sat down next to him and put her arms
around him. "Scared that you will hurt someone again?" she asked.

He nodded grimly.  "I don't want to lose control again, Diana, and I'm
scared I will."

Diana looked at him. "Trey, you'll be all right.  Koroth said you just
forgot your medication."

He laughed at that.  "He's given me the same assurance.  Roth the healer..."

Diana laughed and then looked at him seriously.  "Sometimes our dragons
know us better than we know ourselves.  Listen to him."

His eyes met hers.  "Okay.  But I want you to promise me something, too. 
If I start acting strangely, report me, please, before I hurt someone."

"Trey, I promise," she said.  "But I want you to promise me something too. 
Trust us-- Koroth and me and Zena-- and start to trust yourself too. All
of us care about you and will do what's best for you."

He smiled.  "I'll try.  It's... hard to trust yourself after what's
happened.  Of all the trusts I betrayed, I betrayed myself the most."

"I understand. and I know its hard for you, but it will be all right. 
Somehow I know it will."

He nodded.  "I hope so."  He sighed.  "Sorry to put you through all
this.... So, how do those sweetrolls look?"

"They look great! ready for breakfast?" she asked and then looking at him
slyly added, "and don't you have some medication to take?"  She got up
from the floor and headed for where she spied her pants on the floor and
pulled them on, blushing slightly as she remembered how quickly they had
removed their clothes last night.

He slowly got up from the floor and fetched the medication from where it
sat next to the sink.  "Yes... what's the name?  C'tain?"

Diana nodded as he named one of the healers at the warren.

"Ugh!  I'm still feeling a bit... woozy.  Think you could serve?"  He sat
as she fetched plates and teacups.  "By the way, do you know anything
about C'tain?  I'd swear he made a pass at me yesterday."

Diana laughed as she thought of C'tain.  "I think he was just being
friendly.  Although you are awfully gorgeous." Diana grinned at him as she
placed the sweet rolls on the table and started to pour the tea.

"Ah.  Could be.  R'chein flirts with everyone, come to think of it..."

"Must be something healers do to make their patients feel better."  Diana
sat down and reached for a sweetroll and bit into it.  She stopped
suddenly as Zena said, <Malk has left the warren.>

<Trey,> Roth interrupted, <M'cos has gone.>

<What?> Trey answered, seeing by Diana's face that she was getting a
similar message from Zena.

Diana stood up suddenly.  Anger filled her eyes.  <What? What happened?>

<Yenal took him away and then came back.>

Diana started for the entrance.

Roth quickly filled him in on Yenal and M'cos's awful plan to break their
bond, and Yenal's belief that he had done so already.  He saw Diana head
to the entrance of the apartment.

"Wait," Trey called.  "Not alone.  I won't let you go alone.  We need to
see Z'lec about it... talk to Yenal."

Diana stopped and turned toward Trey, despair in her face and then
resignation. " You are right. I won't make the same mistake I did before. 
This is a warren decision and I will do as Z'lec says."

He nodded.  "I expect he'll call us all when he needs us.  We probably
ought to eat now.  Please."

Diana looked at Trey and knew he was right.  <Zena, tell Raynod to tell
Z'lec where I am and that I will wait further instructions."  Diana then
sat down and again reached for the roll. "You too, Trey, eat! These rolls
are delicious."

Trey sat back down and ate.  He was frightfully hungry.  They talked of
small things-- who did what and where and so on at the warren.  They
avoided the mention of Malk and Yenal.  When he had finished several rolls
and a cup of tea, Roth said, <Aura says Waylene wishes to see you, at your
earliest convenience.>

Trey grimaced.  "Waylene wants to see me."

"It can't be that bad."  Diana smiled at him. "Waylene is a good
Warrenlady as well as a good person."

"Mmmm... oh, I know.  I've known her in passing for years now.  It's just
that I had a brief... discussion with her mate and I expect it's about
that."

Diana frowned slightly at the look on Trey's face. "What kind of
discussion?" she asked.

Trey shrugged.  "I'll explain later.  Right now, I'm off to the
Warrenlady's office."  He stopped and bent down and kissed her.  "Thank
you for last night... and this morning."

Diana paused, remembering the night before.  "Trey, thank you, too."  She
looked up at him.  "Friends do what's best for each other in different
ways.  Last night and this morning was what friendship is all about."

He grinned suddenly, "Well, it's a bit different than R'chein's way of
doing things.  I've got to go.  See you in the Dining Hall for lunch?"

"Sure."  She grinned at him.  "I'll clean up here."  As he started to
protest she added, "Look, you cooked for me twice now, its my turn to do
something.  Besides, you have an appointment with the warrenlady. Now
scram!"

"Whatever you say, dear," he said with an evil grin, and dashed out to the
ledge and the impatiently waiting Koroth.  He waved a quick goodbye after
he mounted, and man and dragon were off.

Diana stood looking after him and shook her head as she thought about all
that had happened.  She then turned towards the table and began to pick up
the dishes.

Respectfully submitted,
 Lynette R. F. Cowper
  & Kat Harris
 Tr'etram and Koroth
  & Diana and Zena

NRPG: I thought I'd get this out and then write Trey's response to 
Waylene in a bit.

Kris, Z'lec has been informed that Diana was at Trey's in the morning. 
How's he going to react to that?

 **********************************************************************
 * Lynette R. F. Cowper       *     Official INWO NetRep & Goddess    *
 * lcowper@io.com             *        Circle of Janus Secretary      *
 * lcowper@indy.net           *   VP of P.U.R.P.L.E. (People United   *
 * http://www.io.com/~lcowper/*   Respecting Purple Legal Equality)   *
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 *     The INWO rulings I make are official.  All other opinions,     *
 *  discussions, deck ideas, card ideas, political beliefs, etc. are  *
 *  my own and not those of Steve Jackson Games, the Circle of Janus, *
 *                        or P.U.R.P.L.E.  Fnord.                     *
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