Chapter 13

They both leanedon the kitchen island, mugs of steaming coffee in their hands. Jake stared into his mug, but Dana kept her eyes fixed on Claire, wishing she'd had a bag of decaf in her freezer instead of the high-octane blend now caffeinating her bloodstream.

Truthfully, Dana preferred tea, but she could tell Jake was running on empty, so she brewed a pot of the stale beans she'd found shoved behind the vanilla ice cream in her freezer. It only made her feel more on edge after they discussed what Jenkins said.

"It doesn't make sense," Dana muttered again. "What was Meredith doing at Claire's clinic?"

"Could she have been transferred?" Jake asked.

Dana shook her head. "I would've been notified."

"When was the last time you saw Meredith?"

Guilt stabbed Dana. She'd been keeping herself busy with work to avoid worrying about Jake, and Meredith paid the price. "Two weeks."

"We'll call over there first thing in the morning."

Dana nodded, but something else was bothering her. "The police said Claire was acting possessed, but she's been nothing but catatonic since she got here."

Jake shrugged. "It was just an interpretation. Possessed, catatonic, does it matter?"

"Yes. That's the thing, Jake. Catatonic states disrupt a person's awareness of the world around them. If Claire was like this when she left the clinic, she never would've found her way to my neighborhood."

"What are you saying? You think she was fine when she left, and she saw something that put her into this state on her way here?"

"I think there's more to the story than the officers told us," Dana insisted.

"Maybe so, but we're not getting to the bottom of it tonight. Let Claire sleep off the shock and see how she is in the morning."

"Jake, this is more than shock or PTSD."

He scrubbed a hand over his tired features. "We've been down this road with her before. If it's more, we'll get through it. I'm sure we'll hear from Dr. Dvita tomorrow. Until then the best thing for all of us is rest so we can come at this clear-headed."

Dana knew he was right, but patience felt impossible with so much restless energy coursing through her. The coffee was definitely a mistake. Dana set her mug down and drummed her fingers on the black soapstone of her kitchen island, her mind flipping through endless occult accounts of catatonic cases she'd studied over the years, but Jake refused to let her spiral.

"Hey," he spoke softly, his warm touch distracting her as he clasped her fidgeting fingers. "We've got this."

She bit her bottom lip to stop herself from arguing, nodding instead.

Jake's thumb freed her pinned lip, a wry grin gracing his face. "Not good enough. Let me hear you say it."

Dana rolled her eyes. "Jake … I'm not a child."

But he doubled down. Taking both her hands and pulling her toward him, he squatted until he was eye-level. "Say it, Doc. We've got this."

It felt impossibly foolish to give in to his childish pep-talk, but when Jake devoted the entirety of his focus on Dana, he was irresistible. She caved. "Fine. We got this."

"Nah, you can do better, Doc. We've got this!"

"We've got this!" she echoed with more gusto this time. "Are you happy?" she asked, grinning despite her best efforts.

"Almost," he whispered. Jake pulled her closer, those stormy blue eyes drawing her in. "I meant what I said before, Gray. I'm back now. We're in this together. For as long as you'll have me. Promise."

The number of words in the world was infinite, and Dana knew more than most, yet she'd never imagined a single one could hold so much power over her.

Promise.

Each time Jake uttered the word, it pierced her soul, supplanting all doubt and apprehension.

Dana let herself get lost in the moment, reveling in the exquisite sharpness of what Jake made her feel when he kissed her.

He hadn't kept up with his shaving in Nevada, and the roughness of his stubble burned as he hungrily nipped a path down her neck. She'd been surprised by his new unkempt look, but she liked it. Even more surprising was how good it felt to have his coarseness against her skin.

Jake moved with calculated accuracy. His fingers didn't fumble, his hands didn't shake. He handled her body like he'd already conquered it. With one swift move he lifted her onto the counter and kissed her so deeply she wrapped her legs around him and moaned into his mouth.

Jake stilled, his fingers frozen midway through deftly unbuttoning her blouse. Dana pulled back; her eyes wide as she realized how carried away they'd gotten. Jake gripped the counter on either side of her hips and let his head drop to her shoulder while she tried to catch her breath. Finally, she whispered his name. "Jake … we can't."

"I know," he said calmly. Then he lifted his head. There was a barely contained wildness caged behind his blue eyes when he gazed at her. Jake stared at her a moment longer before untangling himself and helping her off the counter. "Guess we still haven't gotten the timing right just yet," he teased.

"We will," she promised.

"I know." He placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "Get some sleep. I'll stay up and keep watch."

"Jake, don't take this the wrong way," she said, caressing his prickly cheek. "You look like you haven't slept in a week. I'll stay up with Claire. Besides, I'm not sure how much sleep I'll get after what we almost did," she joked, buttoning her blouse.

"Oh yeah?" he teased, not even trying to hide his flirtatious smirk. "You were into it? I couldn't tell."

"Shut up and get some shut eye. That's an order."

He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into his arms. "That's not fair. You know I can't resist when you talk bossy to me, Doc."

Feeling lighter than air, Dana reached up and looped her arms around his neck. "Then you're in luck because you know I like to be in charge."

"Sign me up." After another passionate kiss Jake turned serious. "For real though. You're crazy if you think I'm going to sleep after someone tried to break in here."

"Jake, you need sleep, too."

"And I'll get it, but not until I'm sure you and Claire are safe."

"We took care of ourselves just fine before you crashed into our lives."

"I know that. But I'm here now. You don't have to do everything alone."

Dana looked down to disguise the sting the word still possessed. Alone. It's something she'd always been, something she'd always planned to be. But now, here was Jake, offering her true partnership. It was almost too much to wrap her mind around. "Speaking of doing things alone," she hedged. "Do you want to tell me about Nevada?"

Jake sighed deeply. "It's a long story."

"I'm the curator of the world's largest occult library, Jake. Long stories are kind of my thing," Dana murmured, hoping to lighten the mood.

Jake pulled her in closer, dropping a kiss on top of her head as he wrapped his arms tightly around her. "Alright, I'll make you a deal. You get some sleep now, and I'll wake you for the AM shift as soon as the sun rises, and after we've both gotten some sleep, I'll tell you all about Nevada."

Relenting, Dana agreed. She released Jake and poured him another cup of coffee, escaping from the kitchen while she still had the willpower to do so.

Pulling herself away from him after so many promises wasn't easy. But there would be time for them later.

Right now, Claire needed her.

Dana checked on her protégé one last time before retreating to her bedroom. The girl was still sitting on the sofa, looking impossibly small under the large chenille blanket, but at least her eyes were closed. She finally looked comfortable, her head slumped to the side against the rich leather.

Macabre images danced in the recesses of Dana's mind. She'd seen too many corpses posed the very same way. The steady rise and fall of Claire's chest was the only thing that chased Dana's dark thoughts away—for now.

She knew they would return. They always did. Relentlessly haunting her dreams.