The House Ch. 08

******

Dwight jumped when he heard the voice in his head, "Dwight, come to me, Minerva needs you."

"Minerva?" Dwight called softly as he started toward the clearing. When he reached the tree, he felt as if he had just walked into a brick wall.

"You will obey no one but me." Aaron said standing in front of Dwight. "Do you understand?"

"But Minerva, she's in there and needs help." Dwight replied.

"If you go to her, you will die; the entity in there will kill you after he has used you to fuck her." Aaron replied coldly, "Now, go sit your ass down until I call for you and do not disobey me!" Aaron demanded, his tone daring Dwight to contradict him.

Dwight opened and then closed his mouth, turned around, walked back to where he had dropped the overnight bag and sat down on the ground.

******

Sebastian waited for Dwight to come into the clearing, when it didn't happen; he called to him again but got Aaron instead.

"Hello Sebastian."

"Aaron. I wish that I could say that it is a pleasure to speak with you again." Sebastian replied.

"I don't care to speak with you either so just give me what is mine and we can end this unpleasantness." Aaron replied.

"You don't really believe that I would just hand the woman over to you did you?" Sebastian asked his voice filled with amusement.

"No, I'm not that stupid; I just thought that I would ask." Aaron replied as he appeared in front of Sebastian. He looked down at Minerva who didn't look any the worse for wear and then back at Sebastian. "It's good that you haven't harmed her." he said leaving the threat unspoken.

"It seems that we have ourselves a Mexican standoff" Sebastian said with a grin.

"No, not really." Aaron said as he reached down and touched one of Minerva's loose braids.

The grin left Sebastian's face as he watched Aaron toy with the same braid that he himself had tried unsuccessfully to touch.

"You.... You can touch her." Sebastian murmured. And then he understood the implications of what was happening. "No!" he screamed causing a wind to stir. The trees around the clearing began dropping branches which Sebastian aimed at Minerva who was now screaming and trying to protect her head. One of the branches landed on Minerva's shoulder causing her to scream out in pain.

Aaron felt his own anger rising and fought to control it. He blocked out Minerva's screams of pain and panic and focused on Sebastian.

"STOP!" he roared.

The wind died down and the swirling leaves settled on the floor of the clearing. Sebastian looked around and tried to recall the wind, he wanted Minerva dead. Even if he was banished, Aaron would never fully control the woods and the house and that would have to do.

The wind picked up again but without the strength of before. Aaron stopped the wind easily and walked over to Sebastian.

"You have lost and are forever banished from these woods, you will wander through time with no place to call home, and you will not interact with any other beings human or otherwise. Now leave our woods!"

Sebastian gave Aaron a hate filled and furious glare.

"This isn't over, I will be back someday, maybe not soon but mark my words, you and that bitch will see me again!" Sebastian said as he vanished from sight.

*****

Minerva knew that something was happening even if she couldn't see it. She felt her braid being touched but she didn't know who was touching it and she didn't want to know. She now understood that there was a dispute between two entities and that it involved the house, the woods and her. She still wasn't sure of what she had to do with any of it unless she was like an appliance that came with the house.

As soon as the wind that seemed to come from nowhere picked up, Minerva covered her head and screamed as a branch hit her on the shoulder. One of the entities was royally pissed off and if she had to guess she would say that it was probably the one who called himself Sebastian.

Suddenly, the wind stopped only to resume a moment later but with less strength and then it stopped again. Minerva uncovered her head and looked around; shocked to see the number of branches that had fallen around her and that some of them were large enough that they could have killed her if they had landed on her.

"Umm Aaron? If you're still here, thanks." she said not feeling in the least bit stupid but glad to be alive.

*******

Dwight jumped up when he heard Aaron's voice telling him to come help Minerva. He picked up the bag and went to the tree bracing himself for the rush of fear that he always experienced when he was close to it. This time, there was no fear, there wasn't.... anything. He didn't feel the badness of the place that he had before, there was a peace about the place that hadn't been there before.

Dwight stepped into the clearing, took stock of all of the branches that surrounded Minerva and realized just as she did how easily she could have been killed.

"Minerva? Are you alright?" Dwight asked as he rushed over with the bag.

"I.... I think so. Dwight, these woods, they're haunted." Minerva blurted out.

"I know honey." Dwight said as he opened a bottle of water and handed it to her.

"I could have died here!" Minerva said beginning to shake as reality set in.

Dwight took the water bottle from her and hugged her.

"But you didn't and you're going to be fine." he assured her.

Their relationship had just changed. Both of them felt it but neither commented on it, it wasn't the place or the time. When she was safe, they would part as good friends and they would never talk about what might have happened between them if it weren't for the house and Dwight's children.

Dwight built a fire and settled in next to Minerva putting an arm around her.

"Forgot the marshmallows again didn't you?" she teased a little tearfully.

"I guess so." Dwight replied quietly. "Minerva...'

"Dwight, it's alright." Minerva said interrupting him.

Dwight was awake long after Minerva fell asleep trying to figure out a way that he could have her and the kids both. He could only come up with two options and neither of them would be fair to her, the one would be to ask her to wait until the kids were old enough to make their own decisions which wouldn't be for another two years, the other which tied into the first would be for them to be together in secret until the kids were adults. Dwight closed his eyes knowing that he would ask her to do neither.

******

Aaron sat on the other side if Minerva wanting to put his arm around her as Dwight was doing. He could see that Dwight loved her and understood that to some degree Minerva loved him too but Dwight wasn't who she was meant to be with, and they all knew it.

Now that she was safe, Aaron had to find a way to make love to her, not fuck her as he had wanted to do earlier but make love to her. He had feelings for her he finally admitted to himself, love may have been too strong a word for it but it wasn't far off.

Sadie appeared next to Aaron and sat down.

"It look like she's alright." she said softly.

"She is thanks to your help." Aaron said.

"You ain't figured it out yet has ya?" Sadie asked.

Aaron frowned.

"Good lord man!" Sadie exclaimed and slapped Aaron on the side of his head.

"What the fuck?" Aaron exclaimed but Sadie was gone.

Henry stood by watching and trying hard not to laugh. He like Sadie wasn't bound by any rules that prohibited him from helping Aaron.

"Sir?" He called out to Aaron.

"What is it?" Aaron asked still puzzled over why Sadie hit him.

"I don't claim to know much about women and all but I think Sadie was trying to tell you somethin." Henry said.

"Couldn't she have just said it instead of whacking me on the head?" Aaron growled.

"I don't think so sir." Henry replied.

"And I suppose you think that you know what it is that Sadie was trying to tell me?" Aaron asked crossly.

"I think I do. Permission to speak freely sir?"

"Go on, spit it out." Aaron grumbled.

"This is just a guess mind you but I think you need to tell Miss Minerva how you feel about her." Henry said and then fell silent.

Aaron looked at Henry and then at Minerva. Another piece of the puzzle clicked into place as he thought about the past few days, it was all connected and Henry, he realized was right. He wouldn't tell her now he decided; she and Dwight had some unfinished business.

The next morning Dwight woke Minerva up with a kiss to the head. After he got her to the hospital and then home, he wouldn't see her again unless it was in passing but he was going to have his say.

"Minerva, I need for you to understand something, I didn't want to be with you because I wanted to experiment or to make a mark in my belt. I was with you because I find you beautiful, intelligent and sexier than any woman that I've ever been with. I fell in love with you without really meaning to and I spent last night trying to figure out how I could have both you and my kids." Dwight paused for a moment and then continued. "I came up with two options and none of them are things that I would ask you to do and well, if I can't be seen with you openly, then I'd rather not be seen with you at all. The kids will be of legal age in a couple of years and if you're still available maybe we can pick up where we left off or start over. I just wanted you to know how I felt about you."

Minerva's eyes burned and she didn't know what to say. She cared for Dwight and she definitely didn't want him to jeopardize his relationship with his kids because of her but.... She didn't love him at least not enough to promise him that she would wait for two years until his kids had grown up but she did love him enough to give him a maybe. "Dwight, two years is a long time and who knows? You might meet someone else." Minerva said. "And just for the record, I never felt like an experiment in interracial relations with you and I loved being with you. We'll just have to wait and see where we are in two years and go from there."

Dwight kissed Minerva and touched her face, "You really are some kind of woman." he murmured.

A few minutes later, he took off to get help leaving Minerva alone in the clearing. Minerva munched on peanut butter and crackers while she waited for Dwight to come back with help. She looked around the clearing and saw the possibilities, "Japanese lanterns." she murmured, "Bon fire and marshmallows." she said forgetting her promise to herself to never step into the woods again.

By the time Dwight got back with help, Minerva had a menu planned for a cook out that she would invite the neighbors whom she had never met to. She found it odd that after all that she had been through, that she wanted to stay. The only explanation that she could come up with was that she felt like she was home even if there were ghosts.

Aaron let out a sigh of relief, he was afraid that Minerva would leave him and the house. He hadn't stopped thinking about what Henry told him last night and wondered how much of a difference her knowing how he felt about her would really make.

"You might be surprised." Sadie said as she appeared next to him. "Look at your hand." she urged.

Aaron looked down at his hand not sure of what he'd find. He stared at it for several seconds and swallowed hard, his hand had some substance to it. He looked at Sadie and then back at his hand.

"Sadie?" he asked.

"You always could do that, you can even look as human as the man that was here." she said.

"Are you saying that I can become solid?" Aaron asked incredulous.

"Yessir but...."

"I know, you can't tell me how." Aaron finished for her.

******

"Minerva! We're back!" Dwight called into the clearing.

It was the same group of EMTs as the last time who came back with him. This time, Dwight didn't greet her with a kiss but he did hold her hand as she was carried out of the woods on a stretcher. The same doctor that saw her the last time saw her again.

"What is it with you and those woods?" he teased as he examined her wrist, ankle and shoulder.

"I don't know." Minerva said in response. "I guess I'm a glutton for punishment."

"Well, you're just fine but you need a few more days off of that ankle and for god's sake, stay out of the woods!" The doctor said with a smile.

Dwight took Minerva home and told her that he'd be back with her things in a day or so.

"Call me if you need anything." Dwight said.

Minerva agreed knowing that she wouldn't call him. She half hopped and half hobbled on her good foot to the living room, she would try to navigate the stairs later. As she plopped down on the couch, she saw the picture of Aaron and Clara. Minerva picked it up and looked at it closely and spoke out loud, "Were you really there?" she asked.

"I was." a voice said from behind her.

Minerva turned around and looked at the solid form of Aaron Richards and fainted.