Chapter 57: Quiet Moments

Dressed in a fitted grey t-shirt, dark wash jeans and brown boots, Niall walked down the staircase, his car keys in hand as he greeted his parents;

"Mornin’ Pa. Mornin’ Ma."

"Mornin’, dear!" Claire energetically responded from the kitchen while Clark whom was seated on the couch lowered the printed manuscript of [The Spire of Fate] he was reading, a warm fatherly smile on his features;

"Hey, son. Trust you had a good night’s rest?"

"I did," Niall responded in kind to which he then said, his expression intrigued;

"More importantly, you look quite full of energy. What’s up with that?"

"Beats me," Clark shrugged.

"Although, I will admit that I actually feel really great. Better than I’ve felt in years, in fact."

"Can’t even feel that nasty backpain I’ve become so familiar with these past few weeks." he mentioned as he rolled his shoulders with a pleased expression.

"It’s true, darlin’," Claire remarked as she walked out the kitchen with her mugs in hand.

"I haven’t felt this sprightly in years!" she added as she handed a mug over to her husband.

"Well, that’s great to hear," Niall chuckled, a knowing glint in his eyes.

Then he said;

"I’m heading over to Camille’s. Promised I’d visit her today. Might take a while before I get back home,"

"Oh~." Claire suggestively smiled, her eyes creasing into slits and her cornflower-blue irises glinting with interest.

"Ma! It’s not like that." Niall laughed as he made his way out, much to the amusement of his father.

"Also, quit telling her all my secrets!" he pointedly looked at her with an amused smile, a finger raised slightly as he opened the door and stepped out.

"No, can do!" Claire called out as she sipped on her tea, her son’s words flowing through one ear and out the other.

Quietly chuckling to himself at their interaction, an equally amused smile on his lips, Clark continued reading the manuscript with great interest, as did Claire herself who retrieved her copy from the table.

As for Niall himself, he was already making his way over to his vehicle, his keys twirling around a finger.

However, just before he reached the vehicle, his eyes flicked over to the fading red barn.

Tilting his head slightly, then staring at his keys for a bit, he casually pocketed it and then moved towards said barn.

A minute later, his parents were treated to the sound of running hooves against gravel rather than tires, prompting both to look through the window as their son galloped into the distance.

"I’m so glad he isn’t always home," Claire casually remarked to which Clark whipped his head over, his expression curious and his brows furrowing.

"With those cheesy Hallmark movies the young dames around these parts watch, I reckon he’d be breaking hearts left and right..." she slid back into her seat with an amused shake of her head.

For a while, Clark said nothing. And then he suddenly burst into an unrestrained laughter, his voice ringing clear and boisterously full of life.

As for Niall himself, he was enjoying the feeling of the air brushing past his face and tousling his hair.

He was also really happy that his parents were feeling like spring chickens.

Afterall, he’d bestowed a small portion of the effects of his Gift of Vitality on them with his Gift of Bestowal after hugging them both upon his arrival last night.

In fact, it was only after he himself was about to go to bed, that he had retrieved it.

Now, he only needed to find the right avenue to do the same for Camille.

And though he could’ve done the same for her yesterday, the ride had been too short for it to perhaps have the effect he wanted it to have.

There was also the fact that he had to go about it in a pragmatic manner.

For as much as he felt a crushing need to just dump a good portion of his Gift of Vitality on her, he didn’t want a situation where she became the subject of interest to the media for suddenly beating one of the deadliest, often incurable cancers in the world.

Rather, he wanted her recovery from it to feel natural... to feel like one of the rare cases a patient actually beat the disease through therapeutic means.

Was it a selfish, almost hypocritical thing to do given how many people around the world could benefit from his gifts? Maybe.

But unfortunately, there was only so much Niall could do as someone who had an objectively realistic view of how things functioned in the world.

To him, his family, friends, and loved ones’ peace of mind came first before anything else in the world.

Arriving at the familiar street a couple minutes later, Niall slowed the horse to a gradual walk.

Patting the horse gently, the steed walking down the lane, a few neighbors and passers-by around kept stealing glances.

Seeing a horse rider around these parts wasn’t an oddity. Seeing a very handsome looking horse rider though...

Well, that was very few and far in between.

In any case, Niall soon arrived at Camille’s ranch--or more specifically, her grandmother’s--a rather surprised expression on his features.

Given his father’s ranch was mostly tended to by his parents and he himself growing up, Niall was quite stunned to see Camille’s bustling with life as workers trooped around the land.

There was also the fact that because he’d dropped her off late evening yesterday, he hadn’t gotten the chance to experience it.

Riding the horse up the pathway though, the workers around looking on with a mix of intrigued yet curious lights in their respective eyes, Niall soon watched as the farmhouse’s front door opened.

Dressed in a breezy cream-colored floral sundress, Camille stepped barefoot onto the porch, a cherubic laugh escaping her lips.

"Why not grab yourself a hat and complete the look? You’d make a proper cowboy yet!" she teased, amusement dancing in her eyes.

"I was aiming for something a little closer to Prince Charming," Niall replied with a grin, gently reining the horse to a stop before the porch.

"But if you must be entertained..." the young man gestured his head in a slight tilt.

"Mornin’ Ma’am," he tipped an imaginary hat with a flourish.

Camille’s response came in the form of a bright, mirthful giggle, the sound carrying faintly across the ranch.

As for the workers on ground, they were far less subtle than they believed themselves to be.

’Surreptitiously’, they peeked from the hedges and between the vines, eyes looking towards the porch and clearly invested in who this striking stranger was, and whom he was to their lady.

After all, Camille had turned down no shortage of suitors over the past few years.

If this was the man who had finally caught her attention, then naturally, everyone wanted answers.

Then there was also the fact that hardly anything interesting ever happened around these parts.

So, as far as the workers were concerned, this was better than any entertainment or gossip they could have asked for.

"Alright, cowboy," Camille then said as she moved towards the door.

"Come on in." she gestured with an inviting smile.

Promptly, Niall hitched the horse and walked in.

...

...

...

"We’ve sort of had a history with cancer in our family..." Camille explained as she was seated next to Niall on the couch.

Her hand was currently intertwined in one of his, both of them gazing at the elderly lady whom was sleeping peacefully on her bed a couple meters away from them.

She also had red hair, albeit greying and her features, albeit wrinkled, hinted that she probably looked just as beautiful as her granddaughter in her prime.

"Our great grandmother died to it, my mother died to it, her sister died to it..." Camille continued, her tone surprisingly calm despite the weight of the subject.

"It’s definitely genetic at this point. A family heirloom of sorts, I might say," she let out a dark chuckle.

"Still, I was pretty confident I’d get the chance to nip mine in the bud if it ever surfaced, you know?" she ran her free hand through her hair.

"I was very frequent with my check-ups. Was always told I was healthy and cancer-free by the doctors. In fact, I started wondering at some point if I’d gotten lucky like my nana here,"

"Well, that was until recently when I got the diagnosis..." a bittersweet smile touched her lips.

"And you haven’t told anyone else?" Niall softly asked.

"Besides you? No. No one at all." Camille replied, then looked to him and said;

"I really don’t want the pity party, Niall. I’ve experienced that song and dance before with my mother and my aunt and I really don’t want it for myself."

Niall responded by gently squeezing her hand and the simple gesture drew a small, appreciative smile from her.

"I’ll be starting chemo soon though," she casually remarked a moment after.

"And though I doubt it’d help, I at least hope it’ll elongate my life long enough to keep taking care of my nana." her eyes returned to her grandmother.

To that, Niall nodded in understanding.

"Well, whatever happens," he said quietly.

"Just know that I’ll be here." he assured her, his tone empathic.

In response, Camille’s smile softened;

"I’d like that very much."

"Thank you, Niall." she said, and without hesitation, rested her head against his shoulder.

"Don’t mention it." he squeezed her hand tightly once more.

As Niall sat there though, a single thought quietly surfaced in the back of his mind.

Given he had never met Camille before his regression, he couldn’t help but wonder if she had survived her diagnosis in the previous timeline.

The chances of that were very slim though and Niall was more than pragmatic enough to believe otherwise. Pancreatic cancer was just that deadly.

Thankfully, it had been caught at Stage III.

And with his Gift of Vitality, a good portion of which he was currently siphoning into her being with his Gift of Bestowal,he intended to ensure that the disease receded. Not enough to draw suspicion, but enough for conventional treatment to succeed where it otherwise might not have.

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/Caer07