Title: From Across The Room
Part 13: The Countdown Begins III
Rating: PG-13
Author: Alsepang
E-mail: alsepang@hotmail.com
Disclaimer: We're all a bit fed up with this.
If you're feeling particular, use your imagination.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

ONE SECOND LATER

      I rolled with him, the force of my sudden, 
unexpected shove giving enough momentum to carry 
us both, rolling like a couple of goodness-knows-what,
just out of reach of the car as it flew by, missing us
by just an inch. I took care that I should land beneath
him, to cushion him. We finally stopped rolling when I
struck pay dirt, i.e. my head hit something really hard.
I winced painfully, closing my eyes against the impact 
and cursed softly.

      "Damnit. Stupid head *just* had to hit it." 

      There was the token moment of blackness and 
swirling stars before I remembered where I was and 
opened my eyes.

      I had my back on the pavement and my head was 
still against the hard whatever-it-was. He was on 
top of me and my arms were around him. I met stunned 
eyes of darkest blue looking directly and somewhat 
disbelievingly into my eyes. He was practically 
nose-to-nose with me. I cleared my throat, feeling 
my cheeks grow warm.

     "Are-uh-are-" I began stammering, my breathing 
ragged. He weighed quite a bit. I glanced quickly 
into his face and felt myself flush even more deeply.

     Above me, gorgeous dark blue eyes darkened further. 
"I'm fine," he responded softly. "Are-- are you-- all 
right?"

     His breath stirred my lips and I felt my flush deepen. 
He was too close to me and I could feel my senses drifting 
into a languid, dreamy haze over the fact that his warm, 
hard body was pressed against mine. I felt strangely comforted 
and safe. His scent somehow reminded me of roses. I dropped 
my eyes to his mouth, which was a tactical error, because 
it was sensual-- and incredibly kissable. The familiar 
sensation of heat surged through me and I shifted 
uncomfortably. Unfortunately, he too moved in surprise 
and when I gasped at his movement, he bent his head and
our lips connected almost immediately. The touch of his 
mouth was soft and warm on mine, and it sent waves of 
emotion rippling through me. It was enough to rouse my 
senses from their drugged state and my mind cleared.

      With a sharp, bitter pang slicing through 
me, I shoved him away fiercely and sat up, feeling
unaccountably dizzy. He stared at me, his expression
unreadable. I had no time to ponder over it, because 
my head was beginning to hurt badly and I was feeling
a little sick.
 
     Then pounding footsteps sounded and voices broke in.

     "Hey, are you two all right?"

     "The girl's bleeding!"

     All of a sudden, people, some in ambulance uniforms, 
surrounded us. 

     "Here, young man, are you all right? Someone take him
and check him-- I'll check the girl, she's bleeding--"

     His lips parted and his face suddenly whitened as he 
reached out and ran his hand through my hair. It came away
red with blood. "Oh, my God--" I heard him say.

     There seemed to be a lot of people calling His Name today.

     I felt myself being lifted on to a stretcher. I instantly
tried to sit up.

     "Hey, I'm fine! Just a little scratch, that's all!" I 
protested. Then a wave of dizziness hit me and I promptly 
collapsed backwards. "Ooh-er...I don't feel so good..."

     "Serena!"

     "Sere!"

     "Are you all right?"

     "Is she all right?"

     "She's bleeding!"

     "It's her head!"

     "She hit the wall, remember?"

     I recognised my friends' voices and saw several pairs
of familiar eyes peering anxiously at me.

     "I'm fine, guys--" I started to say.

     "Right, everyone, please move, we need 
to get her to the hospital. She may need 
stitches and we're not sure if she has a 
concussion--"

     "Is she going to be all right?" demanded 
a deep voice I knew.

      I opened my eyes, turned my head and 
looked into his dark, deep blue eyes. Something 
told me that he was badly frightened.

      Against my will, I cleared my throat and 
spoke reassuringly. "I'll be fine. Just take 
care of yourself." 

(c) 2001 Copyright original storyline by 
Alsepang


Did you know?

I've never watched "The King And I". Thais are not
very happy about the way their king, King Mongkut,
was portrayed in the musical. I have heard that
Mrs Anna Leonowens was not entirely correct in her
book about the years she spent in Thailand and her
experiences there. 

Anyway, King Mongkut was the very first Thai king to
establish friendly relations with the West, namely 
Britain and France. He could speak English too, and 
wanted his children to learn the language. England 
was a force to be reckoned with in South-east Asia 
then.

After King Mongkut (who was nowhere near as handsome
as Chow Yun Fat) came King Chulalongkorn, who carried
on the foreign relations policy his father had, and who
established Chulalongkorn University, one of Thailand's
most prestigious universities today.

Following King Chulalongkorn were Kings Vajiravudh and
Prajadhipok. The former was characterized by his excesses
and the latter's reign was weakened because of hos predecessor's
excesses. During Prajadhipok's rule, Thailand became a 
constituional monarchy.

Then came King Anand, who by all accounts was an 
extremely intelligent and capable young man. He ascended
the throne in his late teens, but died in mysterious 
circumstances only a few years later. Conspiracy
theories abound because he died so suddenly and
so unexpectedly. To this day, it is still not
entirely clear how he died.

His younger brother, Bhumibol Adulyadej, was called 
back from abroad, where he was studying, to take the 
throne when his brother died. We know him today as 
Thailand's much-revered and beloved monarch, King 
Bhumibol.

The King has always been deeply reverenced. In
1992, when the military carried out a coup d' etat,
ordinary Thais rioted in the streets against the army.
King Bhumibol summoned the leader of the military
to his palace.  

The upshot was that the military surrendered peacefully,
riots ended, and civilian government was established in 
a country where military coup d' etats had been a dime 
a dozen for the past few years. 

Thailand is a constitutional monarchy, but the King
is always the first person the new government visits. 
It is a mark of great respect and this visit is meant to 
obtain the blessing of the King. True, it is ceremonial
and largely a mere tradition, because the King has no
power to dismiss a government, but his approval is
nevertheless extremely important.