Page 24 of Bear for the Holidays

While his primary instinct was usually to sleep through bad weather, Nik had to admit that staying awake with Deanna sounded like a lot more fun.

Back in his human form, they curled up onto the loveseat together, Deanna tucked under his arm, the fire crackling merrily in the wood stove. He had always thought the loveseat was a little cramped, but now it seemed just right, keeping them close and warm.

“Are we going to be okay?” Deanna asked him eventually. There was something hushed about her tone, as if she was afraid someone might hear her being even a little vulnerable. It was a gift, he realized, to see her when she was less than bright and loud and confident, and he was touched and honored to witness it.

“We’re going to be okay,” he said with confidence. “We’re tough. If it’s not okay, we’ll make it okay, and knowing us, we’ll probably make it pretty good. Great, even.”

“Yeah?”

“Absolutely. I mean, you make amazing cookies. I can band fifty birds in under an hour. We’ve got skills, and we belong together. Beyond that, everything can be figured out. You smell right to me–”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“You smell right, and that’s all my bear cares about. He’s a good judge of character, so I’m inclined to agree. You and I belong with each other, and everything else can be figured out.”

“Hm.”

To Nik’s surprise, Deanna sat up, a thoughtful look on her face.

“So I smell right to you and to your bear.”

“Yeah.”

“How well do cats smell?”

“Better than we do, less well than dogs.”

“Okay, I want to try something.”

Bemused, he followed her to the bedroom, where the little white cat was working herself up to an ear-splitting cry. No one liked a sound like that, but at that point, he felt desperately sorry for her. She sounded miserable, and, he realized, lonely.

There was another kitten in with the rest, bringing the total to four. Nik couldn’t see if this one had wings or not, but Deanna only stroked the white cat’s head before tugging one of the towels she was resting on out from underneath her. The cat hissed in dismay, but Deanna was already heading for the door.

“I need another insulated box, if you have one.”

Catching on, Nik went into his bear form rather than getting dressed for the cold again, padding through the snow to fetch one of the boxes he’d set out earlier. When he retrieved it, Deanna lined it with the blanket she had pulled out and set it on the porch. Then she brushed the snow off of Nik before letting him back inside, human again.

“Thank God you don’t lose your clothes when you transform,” she muttered.

“Small blessings. Think this will work?”

Deanna shrugged, looking up at him with dark, dark eyes.

“I don’t know, but I hope it does.”

There was frown line between her eyebrows, and he reached up to run the ball of his thumb along it, smoothing it out gently.

“You okay, sweetheart?”

“I am. It’s just so cold out there. I know he’s been looking after himself, but. Well. It’s so cold.”

“We’re doing everything we can. Hey, you know what will make you feel better?”

“You telling me that everything is going to be all right?”

He grinned, taking her in his arms. He could feel the way she relaxed against him, how the tension seemed to dissipate from her shoulders, and her back, the way she snuggled closer without even thinking about it.

“Of course everything is going to be all right. But in the meantime, we have cookies.”

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