River just stood there and watched as Mr. Donavan turned and walked out the door, wondering what he had gotten himself into. He took a moment to look around the room that was now his, it wasn't really anything impressive. Dark wood floor, walls painted a hunter green color, big picture windows looking out to what appeared to be a garden of some sort. No pictures on the walls, no knick-knacks of any kind.
There was a decent sized closet and a chest of drawers with a mirror above it, other than that, pretty scarce. The only thing of any real interest was the bed located in the center of the room. Apparently hand-made, it was a massive king sized dark wood four post bed with a canopy perched on top. Upon closer inspection, he noticed the carvings of wolves at play along the head and foot boards and on the posts were wolves howling at the moon. All in all... it was beautiful but still masculine.
Finally getting his things put away, River was unsure of what to do next. He didn't feel right just going out and wandering the house himself, so he sat on the edge of the bed... and waited. Losing himself to his thoughts, River closed his eyes and began thinking over all that had occurred the last few days.
The first episode he had worried him, the second frightened him. Not knowing if the images of his daughter were all his imagination, or if it was something else. What he saw scared the hell out of him, Raivyn looked so small and afraid. He knew, somewhere deep inside that it was real. What he was seeing was happening, but who would believe him? They would just think he was nuts, that he hit his head a little harder than they thought. No... there was no way that he could tell anyone about what he saw with his episodes.
River was so lost in his thoughts, that he was unaware that he was being watched from the doorway, not until he heard Mr. Donavan ask if he was ok. Jerking his head up, he saw the concern on his boss's face. River had been crying again as he thought of Raivyn, his baby girl, he had to find her. She was his life, all that he had left.
"I'm fine, just tired I guess. Been a long couple of days for me is all. I umm... want to... to thank you Mr. Donavan. Thank you for allowing me to stay here, even if it isn't really necessary, I'm sure this is an inconvenience for you as well."
"River, please call me Eithen while you are here. We are not in the office, and that is the only place that I want to be called Mr. Donavan. Also, I really don't mind you being here, if I did, I never would've suggested it, so drop it. You ready for some lunch? I know that hospital food couldn't have been very appetizing."
River just sat there, watching Mr. Donavan shift from foot to foot in the doorway, almost like he was unsure of himself at the moment. He had to be wrong though, Mr. Donavan was always in charge and sure of everything. Realizing that he was waiting for an answer, River just nodded his head and stood up to follow.
As River walked behind Eithen he took in his surroundings. Not bad he thought to himself as he looked around at the home of his boss. It wasn't anything like he expected it to be. He figured with someone like Mr. Donavan, the home would be sterile and plain looking. He was not expecting it to be warm and inviting. Dark wood flooring, large picture windows looking out over the yard and the woods beyond. A high ceiling with sky lights every few feet added a nice touch making it seem more open and bright.
The walls were a pale blue color to offset the darkness of the woodwork and floors. Just ahead of them he could see into a large room with a cobblestone fireplace being the main focus, surrounded by dark leather couches and chairs. Above the fireplace was a painting with what looked like wolves running in the woods. It was a beautiful picture. River noticed that there seemed to be a lot of carvings, statues and paintings all depicting wolves in some sort of activity.
Walking into the kitchen, the first thing that River saw was the huge hand-made table that could easily seat twelve people around it. The backs of the chairs and the rim around the table also had wolves carved into them. Mr. Donavan really seems to have a thing for wolves he thought. Turning around he realized that he was being watched.
"You like what you see so far? I know it's not much, but it's home, I can be myself here." Eithen said as he started taking things out of the fridge to make sandwiches with. "So... what do you want? I have just about anything you could possibly want in here. My ma makes sure that I stay well stocked. Oh, and just a heads up for ya, my parents will be over tonight for dinner." Eithen looked up at that point to see River just standing there with a strange look on his face. "You doin' ok over there River?" he asked.
"Um... yeah, I'm good. This is just all so strange for me. You're not anything like you are in the office. You are always so... so uptight and stern while at work. I can't not think of you as Mr. Donavan, but this... you just seem so laid back and like any other guy. It's not right, it's not how I pictured you. All I ever think is that you are a no nonsense, egotistical, self-righteous bastard. Sorry, but that is how you come across to everyone in the office." River blurted out before really thinking of what he was saying, glancing up at Mr. Donavan to see his reaction to what he just admitted. He wasn't expecting to see the smirk on his boss's lips.
Eithen couldn't help but laugh to himself as River went off on his little rant, he knew how he came across to his employees and that was exactly how he wanted it. However, when it came to River, he needed to make sure that he showed his true self. Well, maybe not his TRUE self, not yet anyways. That is one side of him that no one outside the pack could know about.
"River, I am well aware of how I represent myself in the office. But we are not in the office now are we? No... we are in my home, and who I am here has little to do with who I am there." Eithen stated while staring at River to make sure that he was paying attention to what he was saying.
"That is just a job, something I have to do to pay my bills. I am NOT there to make friends, I am there to work and to make sure that my employees are capable of doing the job that they were hired for. SO, if you really want me to be the... how did you put it? Egotistical and self-righteous bastard that you are used to in the office while you are here in MY home as MY guest... then I guess I could do that for you. BUT, I really don't want to have to be that person while in my own home, just so YOU, can keep that image you have of me from shattering to pieces." With that said, he turned and finished pulling out the stuff to make lunch acting like nothing just happened.
River stood there, mouth agape not believing he just said that to his boss of all people. What the hell did I just do? Oh shit... I am so going to get fired over this, I just know I am. Should I apologize? Maybe... yeah, that's what I need to do. Tell him that it must be the meds that the doctor has me on. Oh man, I really can't be here now after what just happened. River really gave himself a talking to in his own head while standing there, not paying any attention to what was going on around him. It wasn't until Mr. Donavan slid a plate across the counter to him did he notice that the food was ready.
"Eat up River, I know you have to be hungery after being in the hospital a few days. And don't worry about what just happened here. I just hope that I made my point clear to you. This is my home, and here I can be me, I don't have to be the hard ass that you THINK you know. So please, for me, don't fret over it and you are still welcome to stay for however long you need to be here."
River was still unsure of what to make of this man. Here in this place, he is not Mr. Donavan the boss... he is Eithen the man. That is something that he will have to keep reminding himself. Eithen was nothing like Mr. Donavan, not really. He could get his point across just as easily as he could in the office with the right tone of voice. That voice, it made River do things that were so unlike him. It made him want to do what was commanded of him, yet it infuriated him at the same time, making him want to rebel and tell that man to go to hell. He was so confused, maybe he had hit his head harder than he thought.
"Why don't you go lay back down for a bit, my parents won't be here for a few more hours and the rest would do you some good. I will wake you before they get here so you have time to shower and get dressed. Maybe after dinner, I can show you the rest of the house. Does that sound like a plan?" Eithen asked as he cleared away the dishes and put the food away. A look of concern crossed his face, River looked a little pale and like he would pass out at any moment.
"Yeah, I think that sounds good. Umm... thanks for the lunch Mr. Don... I mean Eithen." River said as he headed back towards the room he was staying in. Not even bothering to undress, he just layed down on the bed and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
******
Eithen watched as River slowly made his way back down the hallway before turning to finish cleaning up the kitchen. He knew he had at least a good three hours before his parents got there, and he was worried about how River would do around them. Hopefully it goes smoothly and they all get along well. His Ma would be the easy one, knowing her, she would be ready to adopt River by the end of the night. That's just how she was, always the mother to whoever may need it, and he loved her even more for that. Maybe they could talk a little about Sanctuary and how that was coming along. That would be a safe topic for them all and it would keep the focus off of River.
Eithen took the time that he had before waking up River to get some things done concerning pack business. He had reports to read and requests from his members that he had to decide if they needed his approval. The pack had the weekly meeting coming up in a few days, and he needed to figure out what to do with River during that time. He couldn't take him to that, but by then River should be ok to be on his own for a few hours at least.
Eithen buried himself in paperwork for the next couple of hours while still thinking about how to tell River about Raivyn. He knew that it would not be an easy thing to talk about, and he just hoped that River didn't do anything rash once he found out.
After putting all of his papers away, Eithen headed down to wake River so they could get ready before his parents got there. He reached out to knock on the door and stopped short, he could hear River in the room moaning like he was in pain again. Without regards to River's privacy he just walked in to make sure he wasn't hurt, stopping just inside the door he took in the scene before him.
River was laying there on the bed curled up moaning and crying in his sleep. Eithen couldn't make out what was being said, but knew that River must be having a dream of some sort. Walking over, he gently shook River awake not wanting to startle him. "Hey River,it's time to get a move on man, need to get up and showered. C'mon, that's it, open those brown eyes for me so I know that you're alright."
"Oh, uhhh... hi, is it time already? It feels like I just fell asleep." River said as he stretched out, not knowing the effect he was having on Eithen as he arched his back up off the bed and making little moans of pleasure.
