Meg looked up at Luc and then out at the crowd. There were smiles and then the sound of people clapping hands. “oh geeze! I think I just got married. Too late to back out now,” she thought as a smile played across her face. She wasn’t sure of the protocol, but she reached up to Luc and kissed him. Luc took her in his arms and kissed her. Whistles, clapping and a howl or two erupted from the crowd. Next thing she knew, there were people clasping her hand, patting her on the back, introducing themselves and in general welcoming her to the family.
Luc bent down to Meg’s ear after a few minutes. “Get me back in the house. I’m about to collapse,” he whispered.
Meg nodded. She thought about things for all of two seconds and then looked for Sandy. She didn’t know him, but Luc seemed to respect him. “Sandy, would you give me a hand please?” she asked.
Sandy turned around and saw that Meg was helping Luc stand. He could see and smell that Luc had over extended himself. “Sure Meg,” he said and moved to Luc’s other side. Between the two of them, they got Luc into the house and on the couch. “Should have seen he was wiped out,” he said softly to Meg. “Anything else I can do?”
“Um, yeah. I have no idea of any of the protocol. Ginny is busy with Jeff and Duke. Help?” she said.
“No problem. You just sit next to Luc and soak up the handshakes. I’ll take care of this,” Sandy said and began to talk to various people in the crowd. Soon there were three women heading to the kitchen and two men along with Sandy began to clear the dining room table. People were coming and going with bags and boxes. Meg watched with fascination as Sandy took over like the head chef in a hotel kitchen.
Luc sat and tried to keep from passing out. He was starving, exhausted and overwhelmed by all the people in his house. Peter and Kevin didn’t look much better. The three of them were enthroned in chairs or on the couch. He thought of asking Meg to help him to bed, but there were so many people coming up to congratulate them on their mating or to offer condolences over the attack, that all he could do was breathe, shake hands and nod.
Sandy moved to the middle of the room and called for everyone’s attention. “There is food on the table! Come and eat!” he said in a voice that didn’t need sub-vocals. Then he turned and took plates from one of the women who had disappeared into the kitchen earlier. He walked over to Luc and handed plates to him and Meg. “Sorry this turned into such a circus, but look at it this way, you’ve gotten the majority of the people taken care of when it comes to the dinner,” Sandy said and winked at Luc.
Luc smiled weakly. Leave it to Sandy to see the good side of a horrid situation. He dug into the food. Sandy brought plates to Peter and Kevin as well. In a matter of a few minutes, everyone still there was eating. When Sandy brought dessert, Luc realized that the crowd was finally thinning. Sandy must be funneling them out the back door. Luc was grateful. He’d owe Sandy one hell of a favor. George too.
Luc went to put his coffee cup on the table and realized that he could barely move. He’d stiffened up. “Meg,” he said trying to get her attention softly.
“Yes Luc?” she asked.
“I need to get to bed, but I don’t know if I can stand,” he admitted.
Meg nodded and looked around for Ginny, Sandy or Jeff. There weren’t too many people left, but she didn’t know any of those in sight. “Just a second Luc. I think we’re going to have company for the night too,” she said pointing at Peter and Kevin who had both fallen asleep.
Luc smiled. He handed his cup to Meg as she headed to the kitchen. In the kitchen, she found Sandy talking to George. She walked up to them and waited for a break in conversation.
“What can I do for you Meg?” asked Sandy.
“I need to get Luc to bed, and Peter and Kevin have passed out in their chairs. I’d like to get them all horizontal, but I can’t do it by myself,” she said.
Sandy and George smiled. “Don’t worry, we’ll take care of them. Just show us where to put them,” said George.
Meg smiled and turned back towards the living room. George had a voice that sounded like he always spoke in sub-vocals. Deep and rumbley. She went and opened the guest room door and then turned on the light. Meanwhile, George had picked up Kevin like he was three. He was at the door before Meg could turn the bed down.
“Just put him here,” she said. “I can’t believe he’s so heavily asleep.”
“Between the pain killers Jeff gave him and healing trance, I’m not surprised,” George said.
“Healing trance?” asked Meg thinking she vaguely remembered Luc talking about it.
“Yeah, we go to sleep, heat up and heal. Works great for minor things. Makes the human doctors think we’re dead ’cause our heart rate drops so low,” he said as he put Kevin down. “I’ll put Peter on the other bed and then we’ll get Luc.”
“Okay,” Meg said and turned down the other bed. Now she understood why Luc had so much space for guests although he lived alone. First the kids, and now these two. George put Peter down who was half awake. They covered him up and turned out the lights.
Luc had fallen asleep. Meg touched him on the shoulder and gently woke him up. He blinked and saw George and Meg standing over him.
“Now, do you want carried or just helped to your bed?” asked George quietly.
“Just help me stand up,” said Luc.
Meg took the injured side and George helped Luc stand. George and Meg moved Luc through the crowd to the bedroom. Luc leaned on George while Meg fixed the blankets. Luc crawled into bed and sighed.
“Thanks for everything George,” he said.
“Don’t worry. How often do I get the chance to defend my big brother?” George said.
Luc smiled. “Yeah, not often I guess. You and Sandy were a lot of help today. Thanks,” said Luc.