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I’m in love with this empath

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😍😍😍

Kay and Elliot on the beach. I love the look of anime ice cream that can be split into two. It's very cute. The Art for the drawing competition from the "Romance Club".

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😍😍😍

Al - is short for Elliot.

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I love them so much!

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Partners: Chapter 16: Recovery

Gunfire, yelling, pain, blood, her lifeless body in his arms. He’d failed, failed to protect the one he loved most.

Kay woke up suddenly from the nightmare half sitting up in a bed a weight on his left side and a sharp pain in his right shoulder. He cringed at the pain and laid back down, his head was spinning.

“Easy there, tough guy,” a familiar voice said.

Kay blinked several times and opened his eyes.

“Jonas?” Kay saw the healer standing over him.

“Were you expecting The Prior of the Inquisition?” Jonas quipped.

“Where’s Lou?” Kay coughed, his throat was very dry. “Is she alright?”

“Relax, lover boy, she’s right next to you,” Jonas said flatly. Then he moved away from the bed headed towards the kitchen unit.

Kay turned his head and saw her asleep on his left shoulder, and only then did he feel her body pressed up against his. He sighed when he saw her then he buried his nose in her hair and hugged her with his left arm that was wrapped around her. Kay stroked Lou’s hair as he nuzzled her, trying to calm his own emotions. It was selfish, but he wanted her to wake up, he wanted to see her eyes, to hear her voice. He gave her a little shake, hoping to rouse her, but she didn’t even react. He tried a little harder, and said her name softly, still nothing, that made him worry.

“Here,” Jonas was back at his side with a glass of water.

“What’s wrong with her?” Kay asked, worried.

“Nothing, she’s fine. I just give her a sedative,” Jonas told him.

Kay turned and looked at the healer in surprise. “She won’t be happy about that.”

“Nope, she wasn’t. Now here drink this,” he helped Kay sit up a little and drink the water.

Kay hadn’t realized just how thirsty he was until the cool liquid filled his mouth and eased his dry throat.

“Thank you,” he said to the healer, after finished the glass of water, then he rubbed his wounded shoulder.

“That hurt?” Jonas asked.

Kay nodded.

“Sharp or dull pain?”

“Sharp,” Kay said.

“Here,” Jonas indicated that he wanted Kay to move his hand, Kay complied.

Jonas put his hand on the wound on Kay’s shoulder.

“Take a deep breath,” he told the empath.

Kay did as he was told and then he felt the heat coming from Jonas’ fingers, the sharp pain intensified. Kay’s face contorted in pain, but he didn’t make a sound.

“Keep breathing,” Jonas instructed.

Kay let go of the breath he didn’t realize he was holding and took another deep breath. And then the pain faded away.

“Better?” Jonas asked.

“Yes, thank you,” Kay said.

“Anymore sharp pains or just a dull ache?”

“Just a dull ache,” Kay replied.

“Good, those sharp pains were bone fragments, but I think I’ve gotten all back into place. That was a nasty bullet that hit you,” the healer eyed the empath.

“Yes, it was,” Kay agreed.

“You wanna tell me why all of Termitary wanted to kill you all last night?” Jonas asked.

Kay said nothing.

“You ever think about a career change, Stone?” Jonas sounded annoyed.

“No,” Kay said simply, not sure why his choice of work bothered the healer.

“You wanna know why I sedated Lou?” Jonas was sounding angrier every time he spoke.

“Yes,” Kay remained calm.

“She was hysterical, not a word I ever thought I’d use to describe Lou. You know why she was hysterical?” Jonas asked.

“She was worried about me,” Kay replied.

“Worried is putting it lightly, she kept asking me why. ‘Why would he do that, Jonas, why? Why would he just lay there and sacrifice himself?’” Jonas was downright angry now.

Kay stayed calm. “It was foolish on my part, but at the time I couldn’t see any other way to protect her. And asking me not to protect her, is like asking you not to heal her.”

Jonas and Kay stared at each other for awhile, Kay could see something in the healer’s eyes that he’d never noticed before.

“Go back to sleep,” Jonas finally said. “You haven’t gotten enough yet.”

“What time is it, anyway?” Kay asked.

“9:30ish,” Jonas said.

“What?” Kay was surprised, he tried to sit up. “We have to get to work.”

Jonas put his hand on the empath’s shoulder, keeping him in bed. The touch confirmed Kay’s suspicion.

“You aren’t going anywhere, doctor’s orders. Besides, she probably won’t wake for another 2-3 hours,” he nodded towards Lou. “So go back to sleep or I’ll sedate you too.”

Jonas walked anyway signaling that he was done with the conversation. Kay sighed, he didn’t exactly have much a of choice and if Jonas was telling the truth about Lou then there was no point. Kay turned and buried his nose back into Lou’s hair, kissed her head, closed his eyes, and tried to go back to sleep. It was easier than he’d expected.

When Kay woke again a couple hours later it was hunger and the smell of food that roused him. He felt Lou nestled against his side, at first he thought they were at home just like any morning. Then he shifted slightly and a sharp pain ripped through his shoulder, he drew in a sharp breath.

Footsteps approached. “That hurt again?”

Kay opened his eyes to see Jonas standing over him, the memories flooded back.

“Yes,” Kay said breathless from the pain.

“Sharp?”

Kay nodded.

“Take a deep breath,” Jonas told him, Kay did as told.

Again Jonas put his hand on Kay’s shoulder again heat spread from his fingers into wound and the sharp pain got worse.

“Breathe through it,” Jonas said.

Kay felt like Jonas was twisting a shard of glass inside his shoulder, he scrunched up his face in pain. He turned his head and hid his face in Lou’s hair, holding her tightly.

Lou felt like she was in a vice grip, she tried to shift, but couldn’t. Then she woke up. Kay was holding her very tightly, on his face was a look of pain. Jonas was standing over him with his hand on the empath’s shoulder.

“Jonas, stop you’re hurting him!” Lou said suddenly.

Kay was surprised by the sound of her voice and opened his eyes up look at her.

“Necessary evil, Lou,” Jonas said, his voice strained.

“It’s alright, it’s alright,” Kay’s voice was stained as well.

Lou looked at him, she’d never seen him like that, it hurt her to see him like that. She pulled his head against her shoulder, cradling him gently, kissing his temple repeatedly.

“It’s okay, I’ve got you,” she whispered to him between kisses. “I’ve got you.”

Kay’s right hand landed on Jonas’ instinctually trying to stop the thing causing him pain. Jonas pulled Kay’s hand off with his other hand, put his knee on the bed, and put Kay’s wrist under it to hold him still.

“Deep breath, Kay, we’re almost there,” Jonas said.

Kay took several deep breaths, sweat running down his forehead.

Lou looked up at Jonas, red streaks were starting to run down from his eyes.

“Jonas,” she whispered.

“A bit more,” the healer said.

Kay began to squirm and try to get away for Jonas, Lou held him tightly.

“Shhh, it’s okay, baby, I’ve got you,” Lou said in Kay’s ear. “Just breathe, focus on your breathing.”

He did what she said, he breathed deeply and felt all of Lou’s emotions. She was so desperate to ease his pain, to make him feel better, Kay clung to those emotions.

Then the pain was gone, Kay sighed becoming lacks in Lou’s arms as Jonas took his hand away, and then the healer headed towards the bathroom, Lou watched him go.

“Are you okay?” Lou asked Kay, looking at him intently.

“I’m fine,” he said, smiling faintly. “You?”

“Fine,” she said, then she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. “I was so worried about you, don’t you ever do that again,” she shook him slightly.

“Okay,” Kay whispered. He didn’t know if he could truly promise that or not, but he couldn’t deny her request in that moment.

They stayed like that for a long time, snuggled in each other’s arms, they didn’t even separate when Jonas finally came out of the bathroom. Lou watched the healer head towards the kitchen unit.

“Got food ready, if you two are hungry,” he said.

“Jonas?” Lou called to him, letting go of Kay slightly.

“Hm?” He didn’t even turn around.

“Are you okay?” Lou asked.

“I’m fine,” he said softly.

Lou let go of Kay, sat up slightly, and looked at the empath, who shrugged. She kissed him quickly and then got off the bed. Unfortunately she had completely forgotten about the abuse her bare feet had taken the night before and her first step had her stumbling and almost falling. Kay managed to catch her arm and give her enough stability to prevent a fall. Lou swore loudly. Jonas was by her side instantly and helped her back onto the bed.

“What happened?” The healer asked.

“It’s her feet,” Kay said, while Lou continued to swear.

“What’s wrong with her feet?”

“She ran all over Termitary barefoot last night,” Kay said.

“Let me see,” Jonas said to Lou.

She pointed at him angrily, “don’t you dare.”

Jonas rolled his eyes. “I won’t, just let me see them.”

Lou sat farther back in the bed so Jonas could look at her feet. He unwrapped them and got down on his knees to look at them.

“You did a good job treating them,” he said.

“Kay did it,” Lou told the healer.

“So you can treat people, not just shoot them?” Jonas said.

“Jonas!” Lou was angry, she felt Kay put his hand on her back.

“On the news this morning they said that over 30 bodies have been found,” Jonas said, then he looked at Kay. “How many of those are you responsible for?”

Kay didn’t dignify that with an answer.

“Jonas, stop it,” Lou said.

“Why is it that death seems to follow you two everywhere?” Jonas asked.

“It’s not our fault that other people think killing those in power in the answer,” Lou said, annoyed.

“There were 13 people killed not that far from here, but far away from where all the others were found. That was you wasn’t it?” Jonas said looking at Kay.

“Thirteen?” Lou asked softly.

“Yeah, 13 killed in a residential square, full of homes of innocent people,” Jonas glaring at the empath.

Kay stayed quiet, but he was perfectly willing to take the blame for those deaths in Jonas’ eyes.

“Did you even think about those people? Do you think about the families of the people you kill, Stone? Or has the Corps harden you to it?” Jonas said angrily.

“Stop it!” Lou yelled. “He didn’t kill them, I did!”

Jonas stared at his friend.

“I know you think all killing is bad because you’re a doctor but life isn’t that fucking simple, Jonas,” she continued.

Kay rubbed her back, trying to help her calm down, but she paid no attention to it.

“You act like you are so fucking righteous because you save lives, but how many people do you think are dead because you saved the life of some criminal? Huh? Do you even think about that?” Lou raged on.

Jonas was looking at Lou differently now, like maybe he was starting to understand her side.

“I know you hate killing, I’m not going to tell you that I enjoy it, but I understand that sometimes you have to take a life to save others,” Lou said.

“Lou,” Kay’s voice was soft, but it still caught her attention.

Lou looked at Jonas who was quiet, she sighed. “Jonas, I’m sorry. I overreacted, I guess I’m feeling extra protective tonight.”

“No, you’re right,” the healer admitted. “I try to never think of that side of it. I’m sorry, Lou.”

“I’m not sure I’m the one who deserves an apology,” she said.

The healer sighed. “Sorry, Kay. I had a rough night even before you two showed up, I didn’t mean to take it out on you.”

“No worries,” Kay said.

Lou looked at her friend kneeling in front of her and realized how tried and beat down he look. She scooted closer to the edge of the bed and him.

“Jonas, tell me the truth. Are you really okay? You look like shit,” Lou said.

Jonas chuckled. “There were a lot of gun shot wounds at the hospital last night, and then you two, and I hadn’t had much sleep or food.”

Lou hugged him, practically falling into his lap, emotions rising. “I’m sorry, Jonas, I wouldn’t have brought him here, except I didn’t know where else was safe.”

“Oh, shut up,” Jonas said, hugging her back. “You know you can always come to me.”

“Yeah, I know,” Lou let go of him and sat back on the bed, tears welling up in her eyes.

“You can come to me with your injuries, your fears, your stalking exs, your bullies, your shot up boyfriend,” Jonas joked.

Lou and Kay both chuckled.

“I promise not to make a habit out of this,” Kay said.

“You better not, or I’ll beat your ass,” Lou said turning to glare at him, Kay just smirked.

After Jonas bandaged up Lou’s feet again the three of them ate together, and then Lou and Kay left Jonas’ so he could get some sleep. They went to Lou’s house to shower and change clothes, then they headed to the Inquisition.

When they walked into The Prior’s waiting area it was after 1 o’clock, Danielle nearly flew out of her chair to greet them.

“Lou, Kay! You’re alright!” The secretary came out from behind her desk and hugged them both at once. “We’ve been so worried about you two. Quick come inside.”

The partners smiled at Danielle’s reaction and followed her to The Prior’s office. She didn’t knock before entering the office.

“Monsieur Martin, excuse me if I’m interrupting,” Danielle said, as she stepped into the room.

“Do you have news?” Martin asked.

Danielle just smiled as she moved aside so Martin could see the partners behind her.

“Lou, Kay,” Martin rose from his desk and came around it, in much the same way Danielle just had. “Glory to the United One.”

He walked up to them and put one hand on each of their shoulders, he looked at both of them and then his eyes stayed on Stone.

“Kay, how are you? Mark says you took a bullet for him,” Martin asked.

“I’m fine, Monsieur Martin,” Kay gave a half smile. “Lou’s healer friend fixed me up quite well.”

“Excellent,” Martin said.

“Where is Mark? Is he okay?” Lou asked suddenly concerned.

“I’m fine, Reed,” came Mark’s voice. “But your concern is touching.”

“Let’s sit,” Martin gestured to the sitting area where Mark was sitting.

“We were about to send out search parties for the two of you,” Mark said once they’d sat down. “You could have at least called.”

“Well, our phones died, but even after changing them we didn’t want risk using them in case more people turned up to kill us,” Lou said.

“Ah, yes,” Mark said.

“As it turns out, it was the network that was hacked, not your phones specifically,” Martin explained. “And Danielle has already solved the problem.”

��That’s good,” Lou said.

“So,” Martin began. “I have heard Mark’s account of last night, and now I want yours.”

Kay and Lou told them about the whole night from their prospective.

“Well, I’m glad everything worked out,” Martin said. “The two of you did excellent work. I’m very proud of both of you. You can expect bonuses, as well.”

“Thank you,” Lou said.

“Thank you, Monsieur Martin,” Kay said.

The Prior smiled very slightly at his bodyguards. “Now I want you to go home and get some rest. I want you both back here in two days. And Lou I want you to get your Psi assessed when you get back.”

“You think it’s advanced?” She asked, mildly surprised.

“What you did was very impressive and I think it is possible that it has,” Marion said.

Kay looked at Lou proudly while she looked at Martin still trying let that information sink

“Now go home,” Martin said.

The two Psionics left The Prior’s office, Lou decided she wanted to get some chores done at her place, but they planned to meet back at Kay’s for dinner. Being alone in her place did nothing good for Lou’s state of mind. Without Kay near her it was much easier to be angry with him. She couldn’t stop seeing him get shot or just laying on the ground waiting to be shot to death. So she angrily cleaned her apartment trying to understand what he was thinking. Every now and then tears threatened to take over her anger, but she never let them. Once her apartment was clean, Lou started working out, she began with pull ups, then push ups, sit ups. She was full of pent up anxiety and angry energy, yet nothing helped to make it go away. Eventually, hot, sweaty, and tired Lou took a long shower. Once she was done it was time to head to Kay’s for dinner, so she got dressed and drove over. Lou could smell dinner as soon as she unlocked and opened the door to Kay’s apartment.

“Hello,” Kay said, smiling as he walked over to greet her.

“Hi,” she hugged him briefly as he kissed her cheek.

“I’ve got dinner all ready,” he said stepping back so that she could see the table.

The table was covered in not just delicious smelling food, but also candles and flowers. Lou wasn’t sure what to say, everything was so romantic, she would have been really pleased if she hadn’t spend the afternoon being mad at him. She was fairly certain he was aware of it too.

“It’s beautiful,” she finally said.

Kay smiled, then gestured to the table, they walked over and sat down. Kay poured them some wine.

“What’s with all the romance?” Lou asked, after sipping her wine.

“Well, I thought after the night we had it would be nice to have a romantic meal together,” he said.

Lou watched him, he was smiling while he explained, but she was even more certain that he knew how upset she’d been earlier. Lou enjoyed her dinner, she appreciated the effort Kay had put into making everything, but she was still wrestling internally. For the most part they eat quietly, Kay tried to start up conversations now and then, but Lou clearly didn’t feel like talking, so he decided to stay quiet. After finishing her food Lou stood up.

“Thank you, Kay, that was wonderful,” Lou said with a tone that didn’t match her words.

“You’re welcome,” he said, watching her pick up both of their dishes and take them to the sink where she started washing them.

Kay sighed quietly. He knew she was still upset and he was fairly sure he knew what she needed, he just wasn’t looking forward to the process. He stood up and watched as she washed the dishes, her movements getting faster and harsher.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” He asked gently.

Lou threw the scrub brush down into the sink roughly, grabbed a towel to dry her hand, and turned to face him.

“No, Kay, I don’t want to talk about it!” she practically yelled. “I want to scream about it, I want to rage about it, I want to throw things across the room about it, I want to be mad at you for it!”

Kay stood quietly letting her work through her emotions.

“I can’t decide if I want to hold you or hit you. I’ve never felt so scared in my whole life,” she came closer to him. “I understand that you wanted to protect me, but I just can’t fathom why that was the way you choose to do it.”

She was up in his space now, her voice raised, her hands holding fistfuls of his clothes.

“Why, Kay, why!?” She yelled as she started pounding her fists on his chest as she spoke. “Why would you do that!? Why!? What good is protecting me if you’re dead!?”

Kay didn’t try to stop her, but he held his hands out, somewhat around her as if to try to contain her rage. One of her hits got him right where the bullet had exited. Jonas didn’t heal Kay completely and so it still hurt. He wrinkled up his face in pain, but he didn’t make a sound, he didn’t move, he didn’t try to stop her. It didn’t take all before her anger dissolve into the real emotion she’d been trying to conceal. She stopped hitting him and sobbed, holding him tightly, this is what he had been waiting for, only then did he speak. He didn’t try to explain himself or make excuses, he only sought to comfort her.

“I know, sunshine,” he held her securely. “I’m safe, I’m here. I’m alive thanks to you.”

She continued to sob against his chest, her arms wrapped around his neck as he repeated words of comfort in her ear. Eventually the sobbing subsided and she felt weak against him. Kay bent down slightly to grab her behind the knees and pick her up, then he carried her into their room. He set her down gently on the edge of the bed, she clung to him.

“It’s alright, I’m not going anywhere,” he reassured her.

“I-I don’t want…” she couldn’t quite get the words out.

“You don’t want what, love?” He asked softly.

“I don’t want to feel all these emotions,” she said with a shaky voice. “I don’t want to be mad, or scared, or upset, I just want it to away.”

Kay pulled away just enough to look down at her, she looked up at him, the torment in her soul reflected in her eyes.

“I know, sunshine, I know,” he kissed her forehead.

“You could feel me earlier, couldn’t you?” She asked.

“Yes,” he said stroking her cheek.

“There’s a part of me that wants to be so mad at you,” she sounded angry as she spoke. “And there’s another part of me that doesn’t want to be mad at you at all,” she sounded sad now.

“Both of those things can be true at the same time,” he told her. “It’s not uncommon to feel conflicting emotions when we are upset, especially when we’re upset with someone we care about.”

Lou reached up, touched his cheek, and traced a line from his temple down along his jawline. She studied the face of the man she loved more than any other. She looked into his eyes, there was such warmth and tenderness there that she smiled as she touched his cheek.

Kay smiled as he watched her eyes move slowly around his face, shamelessly staring at him, but he didn’t mind. He felt her conflicted emotions fade away until there was nothing but love left.

“I love you, my sunshine, my light, my joy,” he said affectionately.

Tears welled in her eyes and then she buried her face against his collarbone.

“I love you, too,” came her muffled voice.

They stayed snuggled together for awhile, Kay didn’t move away, letting her soak up as much as she wanted. Eventually Lou raised her head from his collarbone, gently pressed her cheek against his, and began nuzzling him much like a cat. Kay smiled, enjoying her affection, feeling her need to touch his skin, he slid his hands under her shirt and gently rubbed her back. She whimpered softly before sliding her hands underneath his shirt and pulling it off. Her eyes immediately fell to the scar of the gunshot wound, sadness and anger clouded her expression. With extremely delicate fingers she touched the scar, Kay felt the array of emotions that she was feeling, but there was one that he didn’t understand.

“Resentment?” He asked quietly.

Lou took her hand off his shoulder and looked up at him.

“It’s a shitty thing to think, but I’m mad that Jonas didn’t heal you completely. He would have if it had been me,” she explained.

He smiled softly, her level of concern and care for him warmed his soul.

“He saw me and my bloody eyes before he saw you, and I have this feeling that he didn’t heal you completely so that he could heal me too. I don’t know why, but it makes me angry,” she told him, gently touching his wounded shoulder again, eyes on the ugly scar.

“I don’t know if that’s true or not,” Kay said.

Lou’s eyes met his, he felt the resentment boiling again.

“He wouldn’t even let me have a tiny scar on my forehead and he left you with this,” she gently tapped the wound.

“He healed the inside, that’s far more important than the scar,” Kay said, gently.

“I know, and it looked like it was hard on him, I told you it was shitty,” she admitted. “I’m sure he did everything he could, I’m just an emotional wreck tonight.”

“I think you’re allowed,” Kay smiled and kissed her forehead. “You should go to bed, you’ll feel better in the morning.”

“No,” Lou shook her head. “I’m not ready yet. I want to touch you, to feel you close to me.”

Kay smiled as he leaned closer to her, touched his nose to hers, before he pulled her top off exposing her bare skin. His hands immediately began moving, exploring her body. Lou scooted her hips closer to his, pressing their naked torsos together. Her hands were on either sides of his face, as she looked at him, love flowing from her eyes and emotions. Their lips met in a tender, sensual kiss, it was slow as they enjoyed the taste of each other. Kay slowly pulled his mouth from hers to place kisses down her neck and along her shoulders. Lou lowered her head and rested it against his shoulder, her arms draped around his neck. After just a few short moments Kay felt that Lou was falling asleep on him. He gently laid her back onto the bed, she startled awake and looked at him confused.

“Shh, it’s alright,” he said still scooting her farther onto the bed. “You need to sleep.”

Kay got her tucked into bed, but she wouldn’t stop reaching for him so then he snuggled down with her whispering words of comfort until she fell back asleep.

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Omg! I love it!! Thank you @somewillwin !!

Kofi request for Lou and Kai from Psi ♥️♥️

Valentines kofi event!

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Partners: Chapter 15: Hunted

Kay, Lou, and Mark watched the car carrying The Prior headed back towards the Center and safety.

“We need to get off this street,” Kay said.

“There’s an alley behind us a little ways,” Lou told him.

“Let’s go,” Kay said.

Keeping low to stay behind the cover of the cars they moved back the way they’d come, gunfire still following them. When they reached the alleyway, Kay cautiously checked for hostiles, his gun drawn.

“Looks clear, stay behind me,” Kay told them.

Mark followed Kay and Lou followed Mark. In the alley there was no more gunfire, but they could still hear it coming from the road behind them. A sudden noise beside them has Kay turning quickly to point his gun at what turned out to be a young man in torn, dirty clothes, empty injectors all around him. He flinched and covered his face with his arms when Kay pointed the gun at him. Kay felt that the young man was no threat and turned away to keep walking.

“Come on,” he told the others.

They kept moving until they came to a right turn that sent then headed in towards Termitary. The alley continued to weave through tall buildings, the three of them kept moving. Voices could be heard coming from behind them.

“Can you slow them down?” Kay asked Lou.

She nodded and then started pulling anything that was in the alley into the path to block the way as much as possible. When they finally got out of the alleyway they were on a quiet road with a few parked cars.

“I no longer have any idea which way we’re headed,” Lou said.

“Still farther into Termitary, I think,” Kay told her. “We need to find a better way out of here, our pursuers aren’t far behind us.”

“Well, you’re in luck, boss,” Lou teased him. “Because I have a solution for that.”

Kay raised an eyebrow at her. “Oh?”

“We’re gonna steal a car,” she said, as she approached the cars, looking for a good one.

“You are aware that that is illegal, aren’t you, Reed?” Mark asked.

Lou smirked at him. “Of course. But The Prior didn’t say ‘follow all laws’ he said ‘keep him safe.’ So that’s what we’re going to do.”

Lou had found a car with a mostly full charge and knelt down in front of the driver’s side door.

That’s when Mark noticed that Lou had no shoes on, her feet were dirty and bloody.

“Where are your shoes, Reed?” The Inquisitor asked.

“Back in The Prior’s car,” she said nonchalantly, as she put her hand over the car’s lock.

“Your feet are bleeding,” Mark said.

“I know,” she said, turning her hand into they heard a click. “Got it.”

She stood up and open the door and then unlocked the other doors from the inside.

“Ready, gentlemen?” She asked, getting into the driver seat.

Kay opened the back door for mark, who got in and then the empath went around to the front passenger seat, and then they drove away. The roads in that part of Termitary were mostly one lane, winding, and unmarked. Lou drove without any idea of where she was going, all she really cared about was getting as far away from the people trying to kill them as possible. Kay pulled out his phone and called Hector, they weren’t on the call very long, and Kay didn’t sound particularly happy about it.

“We’re on our own,” Kay said after he hang up.

“What?” Lou asked surprised.

“For now,” Kay clarified. “Several members of the team are injured and right now their main priority is getting The Prior to safety.”

Lou sighed. “We can’t just drive around all night, we should find a safe place to wait.”

“I agree,” Kay said.

“And we should get some different clothes,” Lou added.

“Why, exactly?” Mark asked.

“To blend in,” was all Lou said.

She drove around until she found a clothing store, she parked a little ways away.

“Ok, I’ll go in and get us some new clothes, tell me your sizes,” Lou said.

The two men gave her their measurements, and Mark grumbled a bit about Lou going in.

“Don’t worry, Mark, you are perfectly safe with Kay,” she teasingly reassured him.

“It’s not *my* safety I’m concerned about, Reed,” Mark said.

“Now stop that,” Lou continued to tease. “You might convince me that you care.”

Mark glared at her, then gave her a strange look.

“Don’t worry, Mark,” she said seriously. “I know how to behave in Termitary, I’ll be back before you know it.” Then she pointed at Kay, “be safe.”

“You too,” he kissed her cheek briefly.

Lou smiled at him and then got out of the car, walked down the street, and disappeared in into the store. The two men were quiet for awhile.

“You know, Stone, that was some good work back there. I see why Ivo trusts you,” Mark said.

Kay turned and looked at the Inquisitor. “That sounded almost like a compliment.”

“I can give credit where credit is due,” Mark said. “Occasionally.”

Kay chuckled. “In that case, I’m honored.”

They returned to a more companionable silence. Kay kept a keen eye on their surroundings, but when he was looking a different direction Mark called to him.

“Stone,” he sounded nervous.

A dark hooded figure was headed right for them carrying something. Kay looked where Mark pointed and saw the figure.

“It’s just Lou,” Kay told him calmly.

“Are you certain?” Mark asked.

Kay turned and looked at Mark with a face that said: you think I don’t know my own partner and girlfriend?

“Right,” Mark said.

Sure enough the figure walked up to the car, got in, took off the hood, and headed Kay a bag.

“I didn’t even recognize you, Reed,” Mark said.

She chuckled. “Soon you won’t even recognize yourself.

Mark didn’t look too thrilled about that prospect.

“We need somewhere for you boys to change clothes,” Lou said, starting the car.

“Do you hear this, Stone?” Mark scoffed. “Five minutes ago we were ‘gentleman’ and now we’re ‘boys.’”

Kay smirked.

They drove around for awhile before Lou found what she was looking for, a motel. She went inside and paid for a room and then came back to the car. Then the three of them went to the room. It was small, with a queen size bed, desk, a chair, a TV, and a bathroom.

“I see you spared no expense, Reed,” Mark said.

Lou snickered.

“Only the best for you, Mark,” she winked at him.

“Go in the bathroom and wash your feet while we change, then we need to bandage them up,” Kay told her.

“Yes, sir,” Lou said, smirking at him.

Before going into the bathroom she laid out their clothes for them. Once in the bathroom Lou filled the tub with several inches of warm water and sat on the edge with her pant legs rolled up and washed her feet. She hadn’t realized how much they had hurt, but now the water it was like she could feel every little cut. The longer she sat there the more the weight of the whole evening began to weigh on her. She didn’t realize how much time had passed when there was a knock on the door.

“Lou?” Kay’s voice called.

“Yeah, come in,” she answered.

The door opened and Kay, dressed in dark pants, a dark red T-shirt, and a long, hooded, black jacket. He came up to her and put his hands on her shoulders. That’s when she realized how much she needed his comfort.

“You felt me didn’t you?” She asked quietly.

He knelt down next to her. “Yes.”

She turned to look at him and whispered, “I’m scared.”

“I know,” he said softly, then he hugged her. “It’s going to be alright, we’ll get out of this, together.”

She nodded from her spot against his neck, as she held him tightly. They stayed like that for a bit before Lou was ready to let go. Then Kay picked her up and carried her out to the bed. He set her down gently, and had her lay down. Then he set to work treating her feet, he removed bits of glass and debris. Once that was done he put medicine on them and wrapped them thoroughly with bandages.

“She’s crushed, Stone,” Mark said from his vantage point leaning against the desk.

Kay looked at Lou and sure enough she was asleep, he smiled slightly.

“You should try to rest too,” Kay told the Inquisitor.

“I’m fine,” Mark said. “And there is only the one bed.”

“Lay there next to her,” Kay pointed, there was enough space next to Lou.

Mark just stared at the empath for awhile. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, go ahead, I’ll keep watch,” Kay said casually.

“Well, perhaps I’ll just lie down for a little while,” Mark said.

Mark felt awkward, but he really did want to lay down. So he came and laid down on the bed, about as far away from Lou as he could be. Kay noted this with amusement, but kept tactfully quiet as he put a blanket over Lou. Then he went and stood by the window and watched the quiet street. Barely a minute passed before Kay heard Mark’s deep, steady breaths. It was about an hour later when Kay’s phone rang, it was Hector.

“Monsieur Baretti, is The Prior safe?” He asked.

“I’m right here, Kay,” Martin’s voice came over the line. “And yes, I’m back in my office, safe.”

“That’s good,” Kay said.

“Report, Stone,” Baretti said.

“Joncière is fine, he and Lou are resting right now, we are in a small motel.” Then Kay told them how them how they had ended up there.

“We need extraction point,” Hector said. “I’ll send coordinates to your phone.”

“Thank you, sir,” Kay said.

“You three stay safe,” Martin said.

“We’ll do our best, sir,” Kay assured him.

Then they disconnected the call. A moment later, coordinates and instructions came in his messages. Kay checked to see how far away the extraction point was, it wasn’t too far according his map.

“Kay?” Lou called from the bed.

He turned to see her looking at him.

“Hey,” he walked over to her. “Hector is coming to get us.” Then he told her about his conversation with Baretti and showed her the map. “How long do you think it’ll take to get there?”

“An hour, maybe less?” Lou said looking at the map. “Faster if we walk, actually, half hour.”

“We should probably leave soon,” Kay said.

Lou looked at the sleeping Inquisitor. “Let’s give him ten more minutes.”

Kay smiled and agreed. He then helped Lou to stand up, pulled her into his arms, and hugged her tightly. Lou nestled against his chest and listened to the beating of his heart. They stood quietly that way for quite a while, renewing their mental and emotional strength.

“Did you get any rest?” Lou asked, not lifting her head away from his chest.

“No, but I’ll be fine,” Kay said, kissing the top of Lou’s head.

She looked up at him. “Are you sure?”

He looked down at her with love in his eyes and touched her cheek tenderly. “I’m sure.”

She smiled up at him, then she felt him stiffen and his eyes shifted to behind her. Lou turned and saw Mark awake and sitting up on the bed watching them.

“Oh, good,” Lou said calmly stepping out of Kay’s arms. “Hector’s coming, we need to go.”

“Excellent,” Mark said, showing no acknowledgment of what he’d just seen.

They quickly explained to Mark the plan and then headed out on foot. All of the clothes Lou had bought them had hoods, so the three of them walked through tight alleyways with hoods covering their heads. When they reached the end of one alley they came out into an open square in the middle of a tall building, that led to apartments, many doors lined the walls. There was only one other way out, to the right of where they came out, but they had to walk across the square to get to the other alleyway out. The square was dirty, covered in debris and trash cans. The three of them walked across the square, when they were about halfway across, Kay, who was leading, stopped abruptly, pull out his gun, and turned to pushed Mark down.

“Get down!” He called.

What Lou saw made her blood run cold with fear and then boil with rage. She saw blood splatter flying away from Kay, who was now facing her, as a bullet penetrated his body. The force of it sent him sprawling to the ground. His Ultimatum when flying. Lou was frozen for a second as she watched him fall in slow motion. Then she heard a gun cocking and she drove down, grabbed Mark, drug him back the way they’d come, and pulled him behind a dumpster.

Kay had felt the danger, stopped, unholstered his gun, turned around, and pushed Mark to the ground. Then he felt it, the sharp, searing pain as a bullet pierced through his right shoulder, clean through his shoulder blade, all the way out the other side. It knocked him off his feet and the gun out of his hand. After he hit the ground he looked and saw Lou pulling Mark away. He’d done his job, Mark and Lou were safe. Another bullet wizzed past him and hit the ground where Mark had just been. Kay looked around frantically for his gun, but didn’t see it anywhere. He rolled onto his back and put a hand over the bleeding bullet hole in his shoulder, he easily spotted the shooter, the gun sticking out off the roof of the building in front of him. He could tell that the shooter was scanning they area for Mark, unarmed, he wasn’t concerned about Kay. Stone kept trying to spot his gun, it couldn’t have gotten too far. The sniper fired again just the bullet hitting somewhere behind Kay, the sniper had found Mark… and Lou. Stone couldn’t see where they were, if they were safe. Pain, fear, and exhaustion clouded his mind and he could only see one way to save them.

“Lou, take Mark and run!” He yelled.

Then Kay rolled over grabbed a pipe from the ground and held it towards the shooter as if it was his gun. The sniper cocked his gun and aimed it at Kay. He felt the danger, it compelled him to move, but he stayed still.

“I’m sorry, sunshine,” he whispered, eyes closed, tears rolling down his face.

Kay felt Lou’s fear hit him like a slap in the face, it was overwhelming. Then he heard the sniper’s gun fire, he waited for death. But nothing happened. Kay opened his eyes and looked around and he saw in front of him a bullet just hanging in the air. Debris and little rocks on the ground around him began to lift up.

“Lou,” he whispered.

Kay looked up to see her walking up to him, her long coat blowing out behind her like cape, her right hand in a fist held out in front of her.

“No, Lou, don’t,” he voice was weak.

“Shut up,” she said, then she threw a cloth at him. “And put pressure on that.” Kay did what she said.

She stood in front of Kay, took a defensive stance and then whipped the hovering bullet so into the ground with such force that it penetrated the concrete. The sniper cocked his gun again and fired, Lou caught the bullet with her Psi again and threw it into the ground, her arms going through the motion as if she held the bullet in her hand. The sniper kept firing and Lou kept catching the bullets and throwing them into the ground. Then with her left hand she pulled a dumpster over to Kay’s left side.

“Just let go of the bullets after you catch them,” Kay told Lou. “You’ll use less Psi.”

Lou took his advice, bullets began clinking onto the ground.

“Look at you,” Mark said appearing beside Kay. “Lying here bleeding to death and still giving her advice.”

“What are you doing?” Kay asked the Inquisitor. “She’s going to kill you for coming out of hiding.”

“No, Stone, she’d kill me for letting you lie here and bleed to death like an idiot from a bullet meant for me,” Mark said taking the cloth from him and putting pressure on his wound.

That was hard for Kay to argue with. As they talked Lou had surrounded them with dumpsters, trash cans, and anything that could help protect them from bullets.

Suddenly Kay felt more danger coming.

“Lou! There’s more coming,” he called to her.

“Tell me where!” She called back.

“The sniper is your 12 o‘clock, we’re your 6,” Kay’s voice faltered as Mark continued to press against his shoulder. “The first one is coming up is at your 4 o’clock, wait for it.”

Lou caught one of the sniper’s bullets and held it waiting for Kay’s call, and ready to catch another bullet with her other hand.

“Now!” Kay called out.

Lou threw the bullet where Kay had told her to, and heard a brief cry and a body thud.

“11, almost 12,” Kay called.

Another throw, another hit, she took out two more that way, but then a whole group came into the square from one of the alleyways.

“The-there’s too many of them,” Kay said weakly.

Fueled by rage, a refusal to die, and a desperate desire to save Kay, Lou reached up towards the sniper, grabbed his gun, twisted it and pulled. They heard the man scream as he fell to his death. Without missing a single beat Lou reached both arms and spun around in a circle grabbing anything and everything she could with her Psi and then spun back the other way throwing everything back at the attackers. Then she collapsed, unconscious, at Kay’s feet.

“Lou,” Kay tried to sat up to her.

“Stay still, you idiot!” Mark snapped at him. “Hold this,” he patted the cloth he was holding against Kay’s wound. Kay put his hand over it.

Mark reached down to grab ahold of Lou and pull her into the makeshift shelter she’d made them. He laid her next to Kay, she was still unconscious and there was blood flowing from her eyes. Mark checked her pulse while Kay hold his breath.

“She’s alive,” Mark reported.

Kay breathed a soft sigh of relief.

“Reed!” Mark shook her, and tapped her face with his hand. “Wake up, Reed!”

Lou groaned and weakly pushed Mark’s hand away.

“Fuck off,” she said weakly.

“See, Stone, she’s fine,” Mark said, smirking, as he went back to putting pressure on Kay’s shoulder.

At the mention of Kay’s name Lou suddenly remembered where she was and what was happening. She opened her eyes and immediately regretted it, they hurt, more than they ever had, she pressed the back of her hand against them.

“It’s alright, just take your time,” Kay said softly.

“We don’t have time, Kay!” She said, furiously wiping the blood that kept flowing from her eyes. “People are trying to kill us!”

“They’re all dead, Lou,” Kay said gently.

“What?” She sounded surprised.

“He says you killed them all,” Mark said louder than Kay.

“Thank you for that, Mark,” she said sarcastically. “We still shouldn’t stay here any longer than necessary.”

“His wound has nearly stopped bleeding,” Mark told Lou. “Just give yourself a minute or two.”

“Calm your mind,” Kay told her.

That sounded impossible right then, but Kay was there, he was alive, he was with her. She reached down and found his hand and held tight to it. Then she turned her head towards his, feeling her need for comfort he leaned his head against hers. Then he used his Psi to calm her. She used the sleeve of her coat to wipe away more bloody tears and then she slowly opened her eyes. It was dark but she could see Kay looking at her.

“Hey, you,” she said smiling at him.

He laughed slightly, tears in his eyes. “Hi.”

“Now it’s time to go,” Mark said.

Lou looked up at him on Kay’s injured side, hands still on the wound.

“But we can’t move him like this, he’ll bleed out,” Mark told Lou.

She knew what to do. She sat up slowly and knelt over Kay’s legs, then she started undoing Kay’s belt. The men watched somewhat awkwardly. Lou pulled hard on the belt freeing it from the belt loops in one move. Taking two hand towels from her pockets she put one on either side of the bullet wound.

“Where did you even get those?” Mark asked.

“Took them from the motel,” She told him as she slipped the belt under Kay’s shoulder and back through the buckle. Then she looked into Kay’s eyes. “This is going hurt.”

“It’s alright,” Kay told her looking at her with such love and trust, that Lou’s eyes welled with tears.

“Take a deep breath,” she told him.

As Kay took a deep breath, Lou pressed her knee down onto his shoulder and tightened the belt as much as she could and then buckled it before removing her knee. She then put a gentle hand on his chest.

“You okay?” She asked.

“Fine,” he answered with a strained voice.

“Alright, let’s go,” Mark said.

Lou and Mark helped Kay to his feet, they both had one of his arms over their shoulders to keep him up.

“We need to find my gun before we leave,” Kay said.

“Ah, yes,” Mark said. “Here it is,” He held the weapon out to Kay, who took it.

“I found it back there when I came out here,” he explained. “Now which way?” Mark asked.

“Forward,” Kay said, “toward Baretti.”

But as they got close to the alleyway the lead toward the extraction point gunfire and loud voices could be heard.

“Fuck,” Lou swore. “Back to motel, we’ll take the car.”

Kay nodded weakly. They turned around and went back the way they came as fast as they could.

“How do they keep finding us?” Lou asked no one in particular, annoyed.

“The phones,” Kay said weakly.

“What?” Lou asked.

“Every time we make a call and tell Hector where we are, they show up first,” Kay said.

“Crap,” Lou said.

It didn’t take long to get back where they had left the car, they put Kay in the front seat, Lou went for the driver’s seat, but Mark stopped her.

“Do you really think you should be driving in your condition?” He asked.

“I still need to keep you safe and you don’t know any of the roads out here, now get in the back,” she demanded.

Mark shook his head, but did as she said.

As she was backing out of the parking spot Kay, who’s head was leaned back and his eyes closed, called at to her.

“Stop!”

Lou slammed on the brakes. Then in her rear view mirror saw a scared teenaged girl staring back at her. The girl stood for frozen in shock for a second and then she ran off. As Lou looked out her window she saw the girl leading a little boy by the hand. Lou never would have seen the boy, he was too little, if she had been paying attention she would have seen the teenage girl. They both would have been hit without Kay.

“Shit,” she swore softly.

“Lou?” Kay called.

“There were… kids in the road. They’re fine, gone now,” she backed out more carefully.

Giving up on trying to meet up with Baretti, especially with Kay hurt, Lou had come up with another idea. The good news was that seeing the map Hector had sent Kay had oriented her to where they were in Termitary, so she knew which way to go. The bad news was that Kay had lost consciousness shortly after getting on the road and she or Mark couldn’t rouse him. She pulled out her phone, noting that it was low on battery, once they had gotten back out on the road and dialed a number.

“Didn’t Stone say not to use your phones?” Mark asked.

“I’m not going to tell anyone where we are or where we’re going,” she told him.

“Lou?” Jonas answered.

“Jonas… I-” her voice faltered.

“Lou, what’s wrong?” Jonas immediately sounded concerned.

“It’s Kay…” Lou was having a harder time than she expected.

“What about him?” Now Jonas sounded protective.

“He’s been… shot,” she said.

“Where? What part of his body?” He switched to healer mode.

“Shoulder.”

“All the through?” He asked.

“Yes.”

“You putting pressure on it?”

“Yes,” she replied. “But he’s unconscious now and I can’t wake him up.”

“Shit. He lose a lot of blood?”

“Yes.”

“Shit. Okay, where are you?” He asked.

“In Termitary somewhere, I’m not sure,” she lied in case someone was listening in. “Are you at work? Can I bring him to you?”

“No, don’t. There’s some crazy shit going on here tonight,” the healer said. “Take him to my place, I’ll meet you there.”

“Okay,” Lou said, she was already headed that way.

“Can you figure how to get there?” Jonas asked.

“Yeah, I think so,” she said.

“Okay, I’ll see you soon.”

“And Jonas? Please hurry,” she said softly.

“I will,” he reassured her before hanging up.

“You do know how to get there, don’t you,?” Mark asked.

“Of course, I only said I don’t know in case someone is listening,” she told him.

Once Lou got back to a more familiar part of Termitary, it took no time at all for her to get to Jonas’ place. Not sure if the healer was there yet or not Lou parked the car in a quiet spot, told mark to lie down in the back, and she got out to knock on Jonas’ door. But she didn’t make it before someone came around a corner and she nearly punched him.

“Easy! It’s just me,” Jonas said. The he saw all the dried blood on her face. “What they hell happened?”

“Jonas!” Lou hugged him and then looked up at the healer with a look he’d never seen on her face. “Please, you have to help him. I-I can’t… I can’t lose him, please, Jonas.”

“Shh, shh, calm down, I’ll do everything I can. Where is he?”

“This way,” she led him back to the car.

Once they were back at the car Jonas immediately started checking Kay’s vital signs.

“Mark?” Lou called.

“I’m here,” the Inquisitor popped up from the backseat and got out of the car.

“Jonas?” Lou asked.

“We need to get him upstairs,” he said. “Who’s this?” He looked at Mark.

“A friend from work,” Lou said without missing a beat.

Then the three of them carried Kay up to Jonas’ apartment and laid him on the bed. Jonas immediately set to healing the empath. Lou paced around the apartment smoking a cigarette that Jonas had given her, unable to calm down.

“Reed,” Mark called to her. “Come sit.”

She just shook her head, continuing to smoke and pace. Several minutes passed like that.

“Okay,” Jonas said, taking his hand off of Kay’s wound. “I’ve healed it as best as I can for now. Now I need to give him more blood.”

“More blood?” Lou asked, worried. “Where are you going to get more blood?”

Jonas opened a bag he had brought home with him and pulled out a bag of blood.

“I brought some from the hospital,” the healer said, as he set to work getting it ready. “Come help me, Lou.”

Lou came over to him, and he gave her the bag of blood. Then he took out all the things he needed for an IV. Lou stared at Kay’s pale face while Jonas put the IV in his arm and got the blood flowing into the empath.

“Now all we can do is wait,” Jonas told her.

Lou stared at Kay for awhile longer, before she heard Jonas offer Mark a drink and she remembered that she still needed to get Mark to safety. She had an idea.

“Mark,” she went over to him, the Inquisitor looked at her. “Do you have Faruk’s number?”

“Of course, I do,” he said.

“Jonas can I borrow your phone?” She asked. “Mine’s dead.”

“Sure,” he handed Lou his phone.

Then Mark gave her the number she wanted. She went back to the bed and sat next to Kay as she explained to Faruk how she needed him to come and extract Mark, then she gave him a meeting spot not at Jonas’ apartment. She explained that they thought their phones being tracked and she asked him not to call Baretti or anyone else on his team. Twenty minutes passed in silence, Jonas continued to monitor Kay’s vitals, while Lou sat next to the unconscious empath, holding his hand, Mark sat on the sofa drinking a beer Jonas had given him. Then a notification came in on Jonas’ phone.

“Your ride’s here,” the healer told Mark.

Lou got up and told Jonas that she’d be right back, then she and Mark left the apartment. The pair walked quietly through the streets until they reached the spot where they were supposed to meet Mark’s guard. Lou stopped them by a wall, their backs pressed against it. Lou looked at Mark and pressed her finger to her lips, he nodded. She carefully looked around the corner to see if Faruk was where she told him to be. He was, along with a two other AC officers, she turned back to Mark and beaconed him to follow. The guards looked over at them when they heard them coming.

“Monsieur Joncière! United One be praised,” Faruk said walking up to them.

“You have no idea how happy we are to see you,” Lou said.

“The feeling is mutual, Reed,” Faruk said as the two shook hands. “The whole Inquisition and the Corps are up in arms about this.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Lou said.

“Yeah,” Faruk looked around. “Where’s Stone?”

A lump rose in Lou’s throat.

“He took a bullet for me,” Mark said.

Faruk looked at Lou, concern on his face. Apparently the entire Inquisition knew about them being a couple.

“Is he okay?” The guard asked.

“He’s going to be fine,” Mark said more to Lou than Faruk. “He’s with a healer right now.”

Faruk noticeably relaxed. “Oh good, he’ll be alright then. Those healers are miracle workers.”

Lou nodded not looking at either of the men. Mark put his hand on her shoulder.

“He’s going to be fine, Reed,” he said slowly “Faruk here was hurt far worst than Stone is.”

Lou looked at the two men.

“It’s true, I would have died without the aid of healers,” Faruk said.

“He’ll be fine,” Mark said again. “Now get back to him.”

“Be safe,” Lou said putting a hand on Mark’s shoulder.

“You too,” Mark smiled slightly.

“You need someone to walk you back?” Faruk asked.

“Nah, I’m fine,” Lou said, and then they parted ways, Mark was safe back with his guards, so Lou headed back to Jonas’.

“How is he?” Lou asked once she was back at the healer’s apartment.

“He’s stable,” Jonas said. “His blood pressure is still low, but it’s slowly getting better, the blood we’re giving him is working.”

Lou nodded, and rubbed her eyes, with everything calming down, it’s like her body was suddenly remembering its wounds.

“What did you do to make your eyes bleed?” Jonas asked.

Lou told him the story while they shared a cigarette, leaving out the part where she killed half a dozen men or more.

“Damn,” he said when she was done. “That’s fucking impressive, Lou.”

“Thanks,” she kind of smiled.

“You saved his life,” he said.

She just nodded, and rubbed her eyes again.

“Come here,” he said.

“I’m fine, Jonas,” she told him.

“You’re stubborn is what you are,” he walked over to her, grabbed her with one hand and put his other over her eyes.

“Jonas!” She tried to pull free, but she was too tired.

“Shut up and be still,” he scolded.

Lou felt the heat from his fingers and relaxed, letting him heal her eyes, she felt the pain fade away. She sighed as he removed his hand.

“Thank you,” she said, then she hugged him. “I’m sorry that I had to ask you to do all this, but I was so scared. We were being hunted all over Termitary.”

“That wasn’t just a friend from work, was it?” Jonas said, letting go to look at her.

“He’s an Inquisitor,” Lou admitted.

“Fuck,” Jonas said. “I had an Inquisitor in my house.”

Lou chuckled. “He’s really not that bad.”

“Damn, your job really has gotten to you,” Jonas teased.

“Fuck off,” she teased back, then she yawned.

“You should get some sleep,” Jonas said seriously.

Lou shook her head. “I’ll go to sleep after he wakes up.”

“Lou,” Jonas said gently. “He’s lost a lot of blood, you’ve clearly been through hell tonight. Do you even know what time it is?”

“No,” she shook her head again.

“It’s passed four in the morning, when did you two get up this morning?”

“5:30 or 6,” she admitted.

“He’s exhausted, Lou, he needs to sleep, that will help him heal. But you need sleep too,” Jonas reasoned with her.

There was more head shaking. Jonas sighed.

“I’m going to check his vitals again, you should come sit with him,” Jonas told her.

Jonas went over to the empath laying on his bed and began to check his blood pressure. Lou followed slowly, and gently sat down on the bed next to Kay’s uninjured side. She looked at his face, he was still so pale, she gently brushed some hair away from his face.

“His blood pressure has gone up a little again, that’s good,” Jonas told her.

Then he listened to Kay’s heart beat. “Steady and strong,” Jonas reported.

“Then why won’t he wake up?” Lou asked.

“He needs rest, Lou. So do you.”

She just shook her head again.

“At least lay down with him, he’ll know you’re there and he’ll sleep better,” Jonas said.

Lou made a face at him, she didn’t believe him.

“You spend a lot of nights together, right?” He asked.

“Yeah,” Lou said.

“Don’t you sleep better next to him?” Jonas asked.

Lou smiled sadly. “Yeah.”

Then she laid down next to Kay resting a hand on his chest and her head on his good shoulder.

Jonas hoped that she would fall asleep if she laid down next to Kay, but instead she seemed to become more upset. Tears started flowing from her eyes and she kept asking “why”.

“Why what, Lou?”

“Why did he do that, the son of a bitch,” Lou cried more.

“Do what?” Jonas asked.

“He just laid there, ready to sacrifice himself to save us. He was just going to lay there and let that bastard shot him so that we could get away! Why would he do that, Jonas, why?!” The longer Lou talked angrier she got, the louder she got.

“Because he loves you,” Jonas said simply.

“Well, what good is that if he’s dead?!” She yelled.

“Asking Kay not to protect you is like asking me not to heal you, it goes against everything we are,” Jonas told her.

“Protecting me is one thing, dying for no fucking reason is another!” Lou yell through her tears.

“Okay, okay, you can be as mad at him as you want to be, tomorrow. Right now you need to calm down,” he said.

“Why, Jonas, why? Why did he do that? Why would you do that?” She shook Kay slightly.

Jonas didn’t answer the question, it was obvious that she wasn’t looking for a response.

“Come on, now. Take a deep breath,” He said.

Lou didn’t take a deep breath she just cried against Kay’s good shoulder, the weight of the night finally falling down on her. Jonas walked around to the other side of the bed, sat down behind her and put his hand on her shoulder. Then Lou felt a sharp prick on her shoulder next to Jonas’ hand, she turned and saw that he was holding a small injector.

“What did you…?” Lou stared at the healer like he’d just stabbed her in the back.

“Don’t look at me like I’ve just betrayed you, it’s only a mild sedative,” Jonas said. “You *need* to rest.”

Lou wanted to be mad, she wanted to rage, to throw things, and yell at him. But she could already feel the sedative starting to work, and the world fell into darkness.

[harperfrogspad]

Partners: Chapter 14: A Night to Remember.

The evening of the big event Lou, Kay, Morgan, Danielle, Hector Baretti, and Mark Joncière sat in Ivo Martin’s office as The Prior explained how the event was going to go. It was a large public event, everyone was welcome, which is why extra security was needed. The event was for a secular holiday known as “The Day of None”, which was held to remember a dark time when the survivors of the genetic storm were still hiding underground with barely anything. The holiday started in the evening with parties and was followed by a day of rest.

The Prior would attend the largest gathering in New Paris and greet anyone who wish to pay their respects to him and the Church. Much like many of the parties and events Martin attended only much larger. The Prior, flanked by Joncière, wouldn’t spend more than five minutes, at most, talking with anyone. Hector and his team would be at the event too, along with many other AC employees. The Psionics were to stay close to Martin and Joncière all night. Lou was to stay between Martin and mark at all times and the two empaths would switch off walking behind Martin, next to Lou, and behind Joncière.

“I need you all to be especially vigilant tonight,” Martin told them.

Baretti turned to the Psionics. “Remember that even though there are many other people who we suspect could be targets, the three of you, are to stay with The Prior and Monsieur Joncière at all times. Breaks will only be taken as a group. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir,” the three Psionics said together.

“Any questions?” Hector asked.

They asked a few clarifying questions and then they were dismissed to get dressed. The three Psionics and Danielle left the office. In the waiting there was a man in full combat gear.

“Faruk!” Lou said when she saw him.

He turned and smiled. “Reed.”

The two shook hands.

“It’s good to see you back on your feet,” Lou said.

“It’s good to be back,” Faruk said. “I heard you saved my boss’s life while I was out.”

“Yeah, well, someone had to keep that jerk alive,” Lou joked.

“I heard that, Reed!” Joncière’s voice came from behind them.

“Truth hurts, Mark!” Lou shot back, totally unbothered by the fact that he’d heard her.

Faruk looked shocked, Lou just winked at him, clapped him on shoulder, and headed for her room.

“Come on, Morgan, you can change in my room,” now she winked at Kay as they walked passed him, he smirked at her.

“I’ll be right there with your dress, Mademoiselle Parker, I need to change too,” Danielle said.

“Just grab the dresses and come change in my room,” Lou said, “it’ll be faster.”

“Alright,” Danielle disappeared for just a moment and then returned carrying two dress bags.

The men watched the three women go into Lou’s small bedroom.

“The mystery that is women,” Joncière said coming to stand next to Kay and Faruk.

“What do they all do in there together?” Faruk asked quietly.

“We’ll never know,” Mark said.

Kay smiled to himself, knowing that if he asked Lou she’d tell him. He stepped away from the other men to go into his room to change, Faruk saw him smiling.

“What’s he smiling about?” He asked Mark.

“Empaths,” Mark rolled his eyes.

Kay half turned back and gave the Inquisitor such a smirk that Mark half chuckled, before Kay disappearing into his room.

The group arrived at the event that was held at the biggest park in the Center. They arrived later than most of the guests, as was The Prior’s policy. They walked together two by two like a train, The Prior and Danielle first, Lou and Morgan next, then Mark and Kay last. They walked and greeted people, Danielle had a tablet balanced on her arm with pictures and names of many notable people who were likely there, but there were still people that would have to introduce themselves. Every few steps the group was stopped so someone could say hello to The Prior. Mark and Kay would occasionally lag behind if someone was talking to the Inquisitor, but they were never very far apart. As they walked Danielle was constantly looking at her tablet and whispering names to The Prior when he needed them. Lou kept a close eye on the pair in front of her, her ears listened for Mark’s voice behind her. This went on for about three hours.

“Who are the people three couples down, I don’t recognize them,” Lou heard Martin ask Danielle.

The secretary began hurriedly swiping through the pictures on her tablet.

Looking at the path in ahead of them Lou noticed the there was a drain that was dipped down slightly coming up on Danielle’s side of the path. The Prior’s secretary was too focused on her task to see it coming. Lou quickened her pace to catch up to Danielle, putting her hands under the secretary’s elbow just as her foot stepped where the drain was. Instead of stumbling Danielle was supported by Lou’s hands and continued to walk gracefully even though one foot didn’t have stable ground for a moment.

“Thank you,” Danielle whispered to Lou, who winked at her.

“Did you find that couple, Danielle?” Martin asked.

“Not yet, sir,” she went back to looking.

Lou looked up at the couple in question and her heart skipped a beat. Instinctively she wanted to looked back at Kay, but she didn’t. Still standing close enough for The Prior to hear her, Lou answered the question.

“Monsieur and Madam… Stone, sir.”

Martin and Danielle both turned and looked at Lou and then forward again.

“As in…?” Danielle asked.

“Yes,” Lou said.

“His?” Martin asked.

“Parents, sir,” Lou answered.

“Their relationship?” Martin asked.

“Uh, not good,” Lou said.

“First names?” Martin asked.

“Robert and Adele,” Lou told him.

“Professions?” Martin asked.

“Uhhh…” Lou didn’t know.

“They both work for Partner Control,” Danielle said, having found them on her tablet.

“Ugh, that makes sense,” Lou couldn’t stop herself from saying.

“Why?” Martin asked.

“Oh, um, they rejected Kay at birth because he wasn’t Pure, his grandmother raised him,” Lou answered.

“I see. How far back is he?” Martin wanted to know.

“Ten steps,” Lou said after checking in her peripheral vision.

“Tell Parker to switch with him once he’s closer,” Martin told Lou.

“Yes, sir,” Lou said, before slipping back in beside Morgan.

Kay had seen the whole thing from he place just behind Joncière. He had smiled with pride when he saw Lou gracefully prevent Danielle from stumbling. Then he was confused by why Lou had stayed beside the two for so long. Once Joncière was done talking and they caught up again, Morgan dropped behind indicating that they should switch places. Kay quickened his pace to move into Morgan’s spot as she slowed into his. He walked closer to Lou than Morgan had, even without touching her Kay felt her concern.

“Look who’s coming up to The Prior,” she whispered.

Kay looked around The Prior and saw his parents, they were almost to Martin. His face remained calm and serious as ever.

“I thought you said that we wouldn’t run into them at an event,” Lou said softly.

“It’s a public event, Lou,” he said.

“You gonna be okay?” She touched his hand very subtly.

Just the very corners of his lips turned up. Her concern warmed his soul.

“I’ll be fine,” he said.

“Monsieur and Madam Stone,” Martin greeted the couple with a little more enthusiasm than usual. He shook their hands.

“Monsieur Prior,” they both said.

“I have to tell you,” Martin said. “It is such an honor to meet you both.”

The Stones both looked surprised.

“Thank you, Monsieur Prior,” Robert Stone said. “But the honor is ours.”

“You two must be so proud of your son,” Martin went on.

Lou realized what Martin was doing and it became difficult for her to keep the smile of her face.

“Um, of course,” Monsieur Stone said, his eyes barely shifting to his son.

“He is one of the best employees I have ever worked with, his skills and professionalism are exemplary. But what truly sets him apart is that he protects out of instinct, not just because it’s his job. He is exceptional human bean, you should be very proud,” Martin said.

Neither of the elder Stones knew what to say to all that.

“Well, if we’re giving out credit for how well that young man turned out, I think I should be first in line,” another voice said.

From behind Robert Stone stepped out Rebecca Stone with Ann Reed on her arm.

“Mother,” Robert said stiffly.

“Madam Rebecca Stone, how nice to see you again,” Martin took Rebecca’s hand. “I was just telling your son and daughter-in-law that they should be very proud of Kay.”

“Yes, they *should* be,” Rebecca said, casting a sideways glance at her son, who avoided looking at her.

Lou couldn’t keep the smile off her face now, but she managed to keep it small.

“And if I’m not mistaken,” The Prior said to Rebecca. “This is Ann Reed with you.”

Ann was shocked that he knew her name.

“It is indeed,” Rebecca said. “Ann, this is Ivo Martin, Prior of the Inquisition.”

“It’s such an honor, Monsieur Prior,” Ann said shyly.

“The honor is all mine, Madam Reed,” Martin said. “Your daughter is perhaps the fastest learners I have ever met. And she has already saved, not only my life, but the life of one my Inquisitors, as well.”

“Oh, is that right?” Ann was surprised and looked briefly at Lou, who standing behind Martin, trying not to look guilty.

Robert Stone shifted uncomfortably. “We shouldn’t keep you any longer, Monsieur Prior.”

“Thank you, Monsieur Stone, it was nice to meet you both,” Martin said, shaking their hands again, then he returned his focus to Ann and Rebecca.

Robert and Adele Stone stepped away from The Prior, the latter moved towards her son a hand outstretched, like she was going to touch him. Lou instinctively stepped in front of Kay and then she needed to come up with a reason why.

“My deepest apologies, Madam,” she said. “But touching The Prior’s personal escorts could be seen as an act of aggression.”

Kay’s mother stepped back slightly, looking aghast. “I would never…”

“Oh, of course not, Madam!” Lou exaggerated. “But you wouldn’t want to give the wrong impression to anyone, you know how high society can be.”

“Oh yes, of course,” Adele said, returning to her husband’s side.

“Surely a mother touching her son isn’t an act of aggression?” Robert said eyeing Lou.

“Certainly not, Monsieur, but they,” she waved her hands indicating the armed guards around them, “don’t know they are mother and son.”

Robert Stone stared at Lou with eyes that were dark brown just like Kay’s, but unlike Kay’s they were cold, unkind, angry even. She returned his gaze without a shred of fear, he clearly understood what Lou had done whereas his wife didn’t. Kay touched Lou’s arm gently, she stepped to the side.

“It’s was nice to see you, mom, dad, but we do have to get back to work,” he said politely.

“Of course, dear,” his mother said.

“Of course, son, we’ll call you,” his father said.

Then they said goodbye and left.

“Ugh,” Rebecca Stone scoffed. “I thought they’d never leave.”

Lou and Kay looked to see Rebecca, Ann, Martin, and Danielle facing them, Mark and Morgan had caught up to them as well.

“We are going to take a break,” Martin said. “There is a tent reserved for us right up this path. I have invited Madam Stone and Madam Reed to join us.”

Then the group of them moved to the tent, Hector Baretti and his team were already there. Hector stood by the entrance with three of his men, the others surrounded the tent. Inside the tent there were tables with food, tables and chairs, and even a sofa. Martin led his guests to the banquet table to get some food first. Mark and Danielle went next in line for food, the three Psionics brought up the rear. Everyone got some food and sat down, they talked and visited while they ate. Kay sat close to Lou.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Kay said quietly to Lou.

“Do what?” She asked.

“Stop my mom from touching me,” he said.

“Yes, I really did,” she told him.

Kay just looked at her, and touched her hand under the table.

“I might not have been responsible for my actions if I’d let her touch you,” Lou said, her anger rising.

“Shh, calm sunshine,” he whispered barely audible, squeezing her hand.

Lou took a deep breath.

“You don’t have to protect me from them,” he said, smiling.

“Yes, I do,” she looked at him very seriously.

Kay smiled at her.

After they ate, Rebecca, Ann and The Prior came over to Kay and Lou.

“Kay, Lou,” Martin said. “I have really enjoyed speaking with your family.”

“Some of them, anyway,” Rebecca said.

Lou snickered. “Rebecca, I love you.”

Rebecca smirked, looking a lot like Kay for a moment. “I love you too, dear. It looked like put my son and daughter-in-law back into their place as well.”

“I *may* have done that,” Lou said, tipping her head slightly away from Kay, who only smiled at her.

“Did he tell you that you shouldn’t have?” Rebecca asked.

“He told me that I didn’t… have to,” Lou answered slowly.

“And what did you tell him?” Rebecca asked.

“That of course I do,” Lou stood up tall, looking stubbornly at Kay out of the corner of her eye.

“Good girl,” Rebecca said. “Don’t listen to him, you protect him from those two all you like, love.”

Lou smirked. “Yes, ma’am.”

Martin leaned down slightly to Ann who was more than a head shorter than him. “You see, their first priority is to protect me, but their second priority is to protect each other. Just like I said Kay protects on instinct, so does Lou.”

Ann smiled with pride. “Just like her father.”

“It was wonderful talking with you both, but I’m afraid that duty calls,” The Prior said.

“Of course,” Rebecca and Ann said, then they both hugged Kay and Lou.

The group returned to the event and The Prior and Mark continued to greet a seemingly never ending trail of people. The rest of the evening was uneventful from the Psionics. By the time they were back in The Prior’s car Lou’s legs and feet were aching from walking in high heels all night. She subtly kicked them off and tucked them under her seat. She and Morgan sat in the backward facing seats while Martin, Kay, and, Joncière sat facing forward. Hector, Danielle, and the main security team followed in separate cars. The cars weaved through the city streets making their way back to the Inquisition building. Lou kept her eyes focused outside, knowing that their job wasn’t over until they were safely back in Martin’s office. As she watched the city going by the windows she suddenly realized something.

“Where are we going?” She asked suddenly, not realizing that she had just interrupted Mark and Martin talking.

“Back to the Inquisition,” Mark said, annoyed. “Where else would we be going, Reed?”

She looked out the window again. “This isn’t the way back to the Inquisition though.”

She turned around and spoke to the driver who was right behind her. “Why are we going this way?”

“The road was closed back there, they sent us this way,” he told her.

Lou looked behind them and saw that Hector’s car was still following them.

“What is it, Lou?” Martin asked.

“This way just takes us really close to Termitary,” she explained.

Martin smiled his slight smile. “It’s good to know that you are keeping such a close eye on our journey, but despite being close to Termitary, this is an approved alternate route.”

“Of course, sir,” Lou said, feeling kind is silly. “Sorry for causing alarm.”

“No need,” Martin said, before returning to his conversation with Mark.

Kay winked encouragingly at her from his seat between the two men, she gave him a soft smile. Morgan was now keeping a close eye out the window. Lou went back to watching out her window too. The car came to a stop in a long line of traffic, cars were being forced into one lane from three. Lou couldn’t explain why the whole situation made her uncomfortable, but it did. She looked at Kay, who was also keeping a close eye on things ahead of them, but he felt her gaze and looked at her. He was calm, so she smiled at him and went back to watching the cars behind them. That’s when she realized that Hector’s car was now several cars behind them, Lou kept a close eye on it. Their pace was slow as so many cars were all in one lane, it seemed like an hour had already passed.

“Something’s happening up ahead,” Kay broke the silence that had settled on them.

Lou turned around and looked, sure enough the were flashing yellow lights up ahead. As they got closer they saw a man standing in the road, showing the cars which way to go. Right went into the Center and left went towards Termitary. Lou looked out the back window again and tried to spot Hector’s car, but she couldn’t see it. As she looked it became their turn and the car turned.

“Wait,” Lou turned to the driver again. “Where are you going? This takes us away from the Center, we were supposed to turn right.”

“There is a detour this way,” the driver said.

Once they turned the speed of traffic had picked back up and they were moving faster again. Then it suddenly slowed again, and they were still headed towards Termitary. Lou couldn’t take it any longer, there was something suspicious about all of this. She pulled at out her phone and dialed Hector.

“Lou? What is it?” Kay asked, picking up on her distress. She looked at him, but didn’t answer.

“What is it, Reed?” Baretti answered.

“Monsieur Baretti, which way did you turn when you got to the flagger?” She asked.

“What?”

“Which way, right or left?” She sounded annoyed.

“Right, of course, towards the Center,” he said. “Why?”

“Shit,” she swore.

“Reed?”

“We were sent left,” Lou told him.

“What?!” Baretti yelled into the phone, Lou pulled it away from her ear for a second.

“It gets worse,” she said.

“Get this car turned around now!” She heard him yell. “Tell me,” he spoke to her again.

“We’re headed toward a one-way road in Termitary, with no good places to turn around,” Lou said.

“I knew this night was too easy,” Hector said. “You know your job, Reed. Keep those two alive until we can get to you. And keep me updated!” Then he hung up.

“Yes, sir,” she said to no one, hanging up her.

“How bad is it?” Kay asked.

“It’s not good,” she said. “It’s not typically a busy road, but with all this extra traffic we are going to end up sitting still surrounded by tall buildings, it’s the perfect place for an ambush.”

“Any alleyways?” Morgan asked.

Lou closed her eyes and thought as she ran her hand through her hair ruffling the neat updo she’d had. “A couple, maybe more.”

“It’d be better if we just went on foot,” Morgan said.

“Ha!” Lou looked at her like she was crazy. Morgan looked confused. “Oh, you must be from the Center too.”

“Yeeees,” Morgan said.

“We can’t just take two men in Inquisitor uniforms wandering around Termitary, they’ll be shot within the first block!”

“Lou is correct,” Martin said. “Anyone with a weapon who doesn’t like the Inquisition might try to harm us.”

“Not to mention tons of potential sniper perches for the assassins out to kill then, I mean call me paranoid,” Lou said.

“You’re not paranoid, you’re good at your job,” Kay said, looking around trying to assess the situation.

“I agree,” Martin said, then he spoke to the driver. “Can you get us out of here?”

“I can try, sir,” he said.

Unfortunately that is when they passed from the outskirts of the Center and into the tight one lane road in Termitary that Lou had warned them about.

“We’re in it now,” Lou said. “The only thing to do now, is get through it.”

The car came to a stop behind a long line of other cars. The three Psionics were keeping a close lookout on the buildings and the sides of the street.

“Is there another way back once we get through this area?” Martin asked.

“Yes,” Lou said, “the road widens out again and then there is-”

“GET DOWN!” Kay suddenly yelled, putting his hands on both Martin and Joncière’s backs pushing them down.

Morgan felt it just after Kay, she drove to cover Joncière with her body. Kay and Lou both leaned over Martin. The sound of breaking glass and a hot, burning pain across her arm, followed by more grass breaking, Lou didn’t hear the gunfire, but she knew they were being shot at. The Psionics got the Inquisitors on on to the floor of the car. The three of them were out of their seats, kneeling down on the floor, covering the other two completely, Kay and Morgan had their guns drawn. There were screams from outside, people on the street ran away, some even abandoned their cars to get away.

“Anyone got eyes on them?” Kay called out.

“I got nothing,” Morgan said.

Lou looked up at the rooftops as she shook her right arm, a bullet had grazed it, it hurt but wasn’t life threatening.

“Lou, are you hit?” Kay asked setting the blood on her arm.

“I’m fine,” she said, her eyes still searching.

Martin pulled a first aid kit out from under one of the seats and began wrapping Lou’s arm. Her eyes never once stopped searching.

“I see him!” Lou called.

“Where?” Kay asked.

“Rooftop, behind us,” she told him.

Kay turned to around and tried to take a look out of the shot-out back window. Lou saw the sniper take aim at him.

“No, don’t!” Lou called out to Kay. Martin had finished bandaging her arm, but now held onto to it preventing her from moving toward Kay.

He felt it just as she said it and he ducked back down. A bullet flew right through the window where Kay’s head had just been and into the back seat in between Lou and Morgan. Kay and Lou made eye contact, he could feel her fear for him coming off of her in waves. He touched her hand, hoping to calm her.

“There’s another one!” Morgan called, looking out the side window.

Kay squeezed Lou’s hand bringing her attention back to him.

“Lou, I’m going to need you to be my eyes,” Kay told her.

Lou nodded looking back out the window and tried to figure out coordinates, then she gave them to Kay. Morgan fired her gun at the sniper she saw out her window, Lou flinched, closing her eyes, at the loud bang.

“Cover your ears, and keep sight of where the bullet hits,” Kay told her as he took aim without raising his head to look.

Lou covered her ears and watched the sniper look for his target. Kay fired the Ultimatum, it was loud even with her ears covered, the shot missed.

“Two meters to your left and about four meters higher,” Lou told the empath.

Morgan’s gun went off. “Got him!”

“Good work, you see any others?” Kay asked Morgan, adjusting his aim.

Another bullet hit the car’s roof.

“Not yet,” she said, scanning the rooftops.

“Keep looking,” he said, then quietly to Lou he asked. “Ready?”

She nodded without taking her eyes off the sniper. Kay fired again, missed again, but it was much closer, the sniper ducked down.

“One more meter to your left, but not till I tell you,” Lou told him.

Kay adjusted slightly and waited. Lou kept her eyes on where she could see the snipers gun, for him to reappear. The wait felt like eternity. Then she saw him take his place again and adjusted his gun.

“Now,” Lou said, trying not to yell.

The Ultimatum’s shot rang true that time, Lou saw the sniper’s head fly backwards when the bullet struck him.

“Got him!” She called out.

“Morgan?” Kay asked.

“I don’t see or feel anyone else,” she reported.

“Good, let’s get out of here,” Lou said, as Martin and Mark sat up slightly.

She turned around to talk to the driver, but his head was slumped over. She touched his shoulder, he felt limp, she checked for his pulse as the group watched.

“He’s dead,” she told them, swearing internally.

“What’s the plan?” Morgan asked.

“We can’t stay here,” Lou said. “We’re sitting ducks.”

Kay pulled out his phone and started dialing Hector. “I’m going to check where Baretti is,” he told them.

That’s when Lou noticed that his sleeve was ripped and bloody.

“Are you hurt?” She asked.

He looked into her eyes as he listened to his phone, the other end was ringing.

“That first bullet grazed me too,” he said, somewhat reluctantly.

Lou grabbed his arm and pushed his sleeve out of the way. The gash on his arm was significantly larger than the one on hers and still bleeding. She locked eyes with Kay, he felt a strong mixture of anger and concern coursing through her. Grabbing the first aid kit she started to treat his wound, Martin helped her.

“Come on, Hector,” Kay said to himself as the phone just kept ringing.

“Not answering?” Martin asked.

“No,” Kay flinched slightly as Lou tied the bandage especially tight.

Mark chuckled. “Remind never to piss you off, Reed.”

Lou shot him an angry side glance before refocusing on Kay’s wound.

Kay understood perfectly why Lou was angry, he was worried about her wound and kept quiet about his even though it was worse. Hector’s voice mail finally picked up, Kay gave a quick run down of what had happened and where they were before hanging up.

“We’re on our own for now,” he told them.

“I hate to say it, but we are going to have to get out and walk back towards the Center,” Lou said.

“I thought you sai-” Morgan tried to say.

“I know what I said,” Lou didn’t let her finished. “But we can’t just sit here, if there is anyone else trying to kill us this is a great place for them to do it!”

“Lou’s right, we can’t just sit here,” Kay agreed. “But I don’t like the idea of getting out and walking around in the streets.”

“I’m open to other ideas,” Lou said.

Kay sighed. “I don’t have any.”

Lou bit her bottom lip, thinking. Then she had an idea. She looked at the three men.

“Take off your jackets,” she said pointing at Mark and Martin.

“Why?” Mark wrinkled up his face at her.

“You have plain black shirts on under them, right?” She asked.

“Yes,” Martin said starting to unbutton his jacket, understanding where Lou was going with this.

Mark still stared at her.

“This way you won’t have the bright, gold Church symbol on you like a bullseye,” she explained.

Mark finally started unbuttoning his jacket. Lou looked at Kay, he was wearing a light grey suit with a dark blue shirt.

“Take yours off too,” she said to him.

Unlike the other two men who hesitated, Kay complied immediately.

Martin and Joncière had got their jackets off by then. Lou took them and turned them inside out. She was watched by four sets of eyes. When she was done she handed Mark’s jacket and handed it to Morgan.

“Put this on,” she told the other woman.

Morgan was confused but she did it anyway. Then Lou put Martin’s inside out jacket on.

“There, now let’s get the hell out of here, shall we?” Lou said, leading the way out of the car.

The others followed her out, that’s when Lou’s idea for a wardrobe change made sense. They were all in dark clothes now, the symbol of the Church and Lou and Morgan’s fancy dresses were all covered up.

“Alright,” Martin said once they were on the sidewalk. “Now we need to get back to Hector. Stay together unless impossible, as the highest ranking officer, Kay is in charge. That includes of you and me, Mark, if it comes to our safety.”

“Understood, Monsieur Prior,” Mark said.

“And didn’t call me that. No ranks, no sir, names only,” Martin said.

“Of course, Ivo,” Mark said.

“Take point, Lou,” Kay said. “Triangle formation.”

Lou stood in front, Ivo and Mark stood shoulder to shoulder in the middle, Kay and Morgan just behind them, respectively. They moved cautiously down the street that way. There was no one else to be seen anywhere, the firefight had scared off everyone. As they walked back down the way they’d come in the car they heard something that stopped them all in their tracks.

“Gunfire,” Lou said, she looked back to Kay, awaiting his orders.

Kay closed his eyes and reached out with has Psi, trying to get a feel for what was happening.

“We need to get to cover,” he said, opening his eyes again. “Which way are the alleyways, Lou?”

“Behind us,” she pointed back towards Termitary.

“Let’s go,” Kay said, turning around, the group followed his lead. “Lou come up here with me, Morgan, take up the rear and keep smelling for trouble.”

The women switched places, Morgan lagging behind a bit to keep tabs on the firefight behind them.

“Is it Hector and them behind us?” Lou asked Kay.

“I think so,” he answered. “But there there is a lot of danger too.”

Lou nodded. “The alleyway is just up here.”

When they reached the alley Lou was about to walk into it when Kay grabbed her from behind pulling her back against his chest, while putting his other arm up to block Mark and Ivo from stepping forward. A gunshot rang out. A bullet wizzed past Lou pressed against Kay. Mark and Ivo pressed up against the side of the building, Morgan hurried to cover them. Kay shifted Lou until she was next to Martin, then pulled his gun out.

“Death to the Inquisition!” A voice in the alleyway yelled.

Kay quickly turned down the alley and fired his gun, then to cover again.

“There’s a least three of them down there,” he told Lou.

“Shit, how did they find us?” She asked.

“Probably lying in waiting,” he said.

“Kay!” Morgan called in a harsh whisper.

“I feel it,” he replied calmly.

“What?” Lou asked him.

“The firefight behind us is getting closer,” he told her.

A whole string of random swear words flew through Lou’s head, each more vulgar than the last. She was looking around trying to find away out of their predicament. Instead she saw more people sneaking around all the abandoned cars on the street, fear filled her. Instinctively she grabbed Kay’s hand, he felt the fear of death coursing through her, then he looked and saw what she saw. He felt Lou’s fear, but not any danger.

“It’s alright,” he whispered.

Then a man in AC combat gear popped up in front of them.

“Beau?!” Lou recognized him. “How?”

Follower Beaumont of The Prior’s main security team stood before them, he had a smile on his face. Two more men from the security team approached Beaumont. The three of them fired into the alleyway naturalizing the attackers.

“Baretti got Stone’s message,” he explained.

“We need to get them to safety,” Kay told him.

“We were told to take you farther down this road,” Beaumont told them.

“Farther into Termitary?” Lou asked.

“The way back down there is completely blocked with shooters. Monsieur Baretti and the others are keeping them at bay. We’re going to have to take the long way around,” Beaumont told them.

“Alright, let’s do it,” Kay said.

“We’ll follow your lead, sir,” Beaumont said to Kay.

“Surround Martin and Joncière, keep them covered at all times,” Kay told them.

The three men immediately complied, and the group began their trek down the deserted street. Lou called Baretti and told them that Beaumont had found them and they are headed back. It was faster than Lou had expected even though she was still barefoot, having never put her heels back on. Beaumont guided them back the way that they had come. They took a shortcut through a different alleyway on the other side of the road that took them to a one lane road headed out of Termitary.

“Down here a little ways we have a car,” Beaumont told them.

When they were almost to the team’s car a shots were fired and Beaumont fell to the ground. Lou immediately dropped down to him while the others surrounded Mark and Ivo more tightly and returned fire.

“Beau!?” Lou called to him.

“I’m okay,” he said. “It hit me in the vest.”

“Get him up, we need to get to cover,” Kay said.

More shots were fired as Lou pulled Beaumont to his feet and the group of them moved to take cover behind some cars.

“We’re in too big of a group,” Morgan shouted between shots. “We need to split up!”

Lou didn’t think that was a good idea, but it was up to Kay so she kept quiet.

“No, we stay together,” Kay said. “Well form a box around them, Morgan you take the lead, I’ll take up the rear, then two on each side. Lou, can you protect us from above?”

“Yes, sir, I can,” she said giving him a proud half smile.

Kay felt her pride as he gave her a quick smile back.

“Alright, let’s do it,” Kay said.

The group executed Kay’s plan perfectly as they moved towards the car. Shots were fired all around Lou, she was the only one without a gun. She kept her eyes up as she walked on Kay’s left, next to Mark. She kept her eyes on the buildings above them for any potential attack. Then she caught sight of something shiny on a rooftop, she called to Kay and put her hand up. The bullet was so fast that she actually caught it in Her bare hand. She immediately dropped it, it was still hot and it burned her hand. Kay raised his gun and fired, the shooter fell dead.

“You alright?” Kay asked, not taking his eyes off the environment.

“Yeah,” Lou shook her hand and then looked at it. There was a bullet shaped burn on her palm.

They kept moving. They had taken down many of the shooters and were almost to the car when there was another group of shooters appeared from an alleyway. The group was forced to take cover behind two different cars. Kay and Lou had pulled Mark back to safety. Morgan, Martin, Beaumont, and the other guards were at the car in front. They were so close to the team’s car, but the gunfire in between the two cars was too heavy to get through.

“We’re in trouble, partner,” Lou said to Kay.

“We are,” Kay agreed, trying to think.

Lou saw a possible solution, she took a deep breath. “I might be able to create a sort of shield, to get us across.”

“‘Might’ isn’t good enough right now, Lou,” Kay said.

She sighed. “You’re right, I know you are, but I don’t see any other options.”

Kay and Lou stared at each other for a bit, a silent understanding passing between them.

“I agree with, Stone,” Mark said. “It’s too dangerous.”

“Then what do we do?” Lou asked looking between the two men.

“Is there anything else that you could move to block the space?” Kay asked.

Lou looked, there were abandoned cars everywhere, but she wasn’t sure that she could move an entire car. Then she spotted something that she could move, a dumpster. Her eyes lit up when she looked back to Kay, he smiled.

“Do it,” he told her.

Lou reached out and started pulling the dumpster forward then sideways, trying to get it into place. Before she could move it far enough to give them cover one of the shooters threw an alcohol bottle with a burning rag in it and it hit the ground in between the two groups. A fire now blocked their way. On top of that more shooters were approaching. The two groups looked at each other through the flames.

“You two stay with Mark,” Martin called to them. “Keep him safe, and you three get back to me.”

Kay and Lou nodded. Then Martin and his group ran, got into the car, got the car turned around and drove away.

[harperfrogspad]

Partners: Chapter 13: Friends: Old and New

A week had passed since the execution, Mark Joncière had easily gotten a full confession out of Councilor Harmon who was terrified of being executed himself. He told Joncière that he had received an anonymous invitation to a online meeting of like minded people who didn’t like that The Prior was trying to remove restrictions on Psionics and trying to encourage acceptance of all different genome groups. Unfortunately, the entire event was anonymous so he didn’t have names of anyone else who was there. He was able to tell them that the group believed that The Prior was too high profile of a target so they weren’t after him, yet anyway. He also give them names of other potential targets, both Church and secular leaders. Because of his full cooperation and the information he was able to provide Councilor, now only Monsieur Harmon was most likely going to be sent to jail rather than a work camp, or executed.

Extra security had been added to anyone who was on the list Harmon had given them, but for Lou and Kay work proceeded as normal.

The partners hadn’t seen Morgan Parker since the day of the execution so Kay hadn’t had a chance to apologize to her yet. But on that day while he was in the cafeteria he spotted her sitting alone, half heatedly eating. He took his lunch and walked over to her.

“Hello, Morgan,” he said.

She looked up at him, surprised. “Kay?”

“May I join you?” He asked politely.

Morgan looked at him for a moment. “Uh, yeah, sure, of course.”

Kay sat down with his tray of food and looked at Morgan. Her usually neat black hair was a little frizzy, there were dark circles under her eyes, and she’d hardly touched her food.

“What’s wrong?” He asked her.

Morgan looked at him with mild indignation. Even her usually bright blue eyes seemed dull.

“You aren’t even going to asked how I am, just going straight to ‘What’s wrong?’” She said.

Kay titled his head slightly and gave her a knowing look.

“Huh, fine. You’re probably the only one who knows me well enough to get away with that,” she smirked at him.

He smiled at her. “So?”

She sighed. “My chaplain was pissed about the whole execution incident so he’s got me on desk duty and with all they extra security stuff going on it means I’m having to write tons more reports and logs. So I’ve been working longer hours and I haven’t been sleeping very well.”

Kay smiled sympathetically. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

Morgan squinted at him suspiciously. “Why are you here anyway? Won’t your girlfriend get jealous?”

Kay gave her a half smile. “No, Lou isn’t the jealous type. And I came to apologize.”

Morgan raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Apologize for what?”

“For the way I spoke to after the execution, it was too harsh and not my place. I’m sorry,” Kay said sincerely.

She just stared at him for a moment. “But you were right. I made the same mistake as befo-”

Kay put up his hand, asking her to wait. “I may have been right, but I didn’t have to say it the way I did. I was upset and it was reflected in the way I spoke to you and you don’t deserve that. I was upset because I believed that you had made the same mistake too, but now that I’ve had some more time to think about it I don’t think you did. You shifted slightly, you didn’t abandon your position.”

Morgan scoffed slightly, surprised by his words. “You wanna tell my chaplain that?”

“I will, if you want me to,” he said.

“No, no, don’t, probably just make it worse. I’m pretty sure he hates me.” Morgan looked at him for a second. “Do you really mean all that?”

Kay reached across the table and held his hand out to her. After a pause Morgan put her hand in his, she felt his honesty.

“Listen, Kay, I don’t want to be that ex-girlfriend, but have you heard the rumors about Lou?”

Kay gave her a restraining smile. “Many of them, yes. They are just that: rumors.”

“Have you heard the most recent ones about her and a certain Inquisitor?” Morgan asked.

“Mark Joncière,” Kay said without having to think.

“Yeah, that one,” Morgan confirmed.

Kay remembered that weird look and the strange feeling that passed through her when Joncière had put his hand on her shoulder. He shook his head.

“Morgan, I appreciate that you are trying to look out for me, but I’d know if Lou cheated on me,” Kay told her.

“Yeah, I know. But there is something weird about those two,” Morgan explained.

“She saved his life, and he saved hers, they were in a traumatic event together. You know how that can change the way people are with each other,” Kay explained.

“Yeah, I know, I’ve just heard a lot stuff.”

“I’m sure most of it comes from the fact that she called him by his first name and no one else, except The Prior does that,” Kay told her.

“You know her best, I’m sure you’re right, I just wanted to make sure you knew,” Morgan said.

“I appreciate that,” Kay smiled softly.

For a little while there was silence between them, Morgan looked thoughtful and Kay didn’t rush her.

“I wanted to be angry with you for so long,” she said. “But I just couldn’t.”

“I know,” Kay said softly. “I hoped that by being away for me you could-“

“Get over you?” She interrupted.

“Yes,” Kay said somewhat sadly. “Morgan, you deserve someone who will love and adore you.”

Morgan scoffed. “We aren’t all as lucky as you.”

He squeezed her hand. “There are people out there who would surprise you, not everyone hates us.”

Morgan looked down at their hands together and Kay felt a pang of sadness, but there was something else too.

“You’re in love with her, aren’t you?” She asked.

“Yes,” Kay had anticipated this question from the moment he first saw Morgan again.

Morgan nodded. “You never looked at me the way you look at her. I always wanted to believe that you loved me once, but-”

“I did, you know I did, and I still do,” he said, she felt the truth of his words. “I was just… never in love with you. But I care about you deeply and I always have.”

Morgan was quiet, she had felt it, he spoke the truth. But she also felt the love.

“You were my best friend, Kay,” she said sadly.

“I know, you were mine too,” he said quietly.

She could feel the regret in him, she felt the same way. “What happened to us?”

“When friends get together it either works really well,” he paused. “Or it doesn’t.”

“I lost everything when they reassigned me, my home, my boyfriend, my best friend, the job I loved.”

“I know, and I’m sorry it worked out that way, I truly am. But you have another chance now, I think that’s why I got so upset with you, I was worried that you hadn’t learned anything and were making the same mistake.”

“And I’ve still managed to fucked it up again,” she said annoyed with herself.

“No, you haven’t,” he squeezed her hand. “Everything will work out.”

She smiled at him, he smiled back.

“Hi, guys,” Lou said, standing in front of their booth.

Morgan quickly pulled her hand away from Kay’s, he, however was perfectly calm, Lou ignored the whole exchange.

“Martin let you go early?” Kay asked calmly.

“Yes,” Lou said sitting down next to Kay. “I *may* have fallen asleep on his couch a little bit.”

Kay and Morgan both stared at her.

“Wasn’t he mad?” Morgan asked.

“No, not at all, he just told me to go home, but then I felt really hungry,” she said taking a breadstick off of Kay’s plate and biting into it.

Kay smiled at her. “Didn’t you order anything?”

“I did!” She said, mouth still full of bread. “It’s coming.”

He smiled again. Morgan watched them together without jealously this time, and somehow she felt different inside.

Lou turned to her, mouth now free of food. “Did he tell you?”

“Tell me what?” Morgan asked.

“I haven’t yet,” Kay told Lou.

“Well, get on it, Stone,” Lou said playfully, gesturing to Morgan, as she took another bite of Kay’s breadstick.

Kay gave Lou an amused look before turning to Morgan. “The Prior would like your help with an upcoming assignment.”

“What?” Morgan couldn’t believe her ears.

That was the moment when Lou’s lunch showed up. The two empaths watched as she dove into her food like a starving woman. Morgan was surprised, but Kay was used to Lou’s often ravenous hunger.

“You forget your morning snack again?” Kay asked.

Lou turned her head, mouth full, eyebrows scrunched up. “No! I was just… busy.”

“Busy… sleeping?” He quipped.

He smirked at her, she rolled her eyes at him, waved her hand for him to keep taking, and went back to her food.

“The Prior asked us if we could reach out to you and see if you wanted to help us out again,” Kay told Morgan.

“But,” she was confused. “After what happened?”

“He did ask our opinions first,” Lou said, between bites of food.

“We told him that we were both willing to work with you again,” Kay told her.

“Wow, well, I’d be honored,” Morgan said. “When?”

“Two weeks from now,” Kay said.

“What’s the assignment?” Morgan asked, already looking better.

“Extra security for The Prior and Mark Joncière at a social event. We’ll get all the details the day before,” Kay said.

“Alright, sounds good,” Morgan said. “But what about my chaplain?”

“No chaplain would deny The Prior’s request,” Lou told her.

“And if The Prior himself is requesting your help, that will no doubt clear up things with your chaplain and get you off desk duty,” Kay said, smiling.

Morgan looked at him happy and mildly annoyed at the same time. “You knew all along and you just sat there and let me vent?”

“You looked like you needed to vent,” Kay shrugged.

“Don’t try and understand his methods,” Lou said, nudging her partner with her shoulder. “He’s just got his own way of doing things, and damn it if he isn’t usually right.”

“Annoying, isn’t it?” Morgan said.

“So much! Like how is he always right?!” Lou agreed.

“I don’t know,” Morgan smirked.

Then the two women chuckled. Kay, instead of being annoyed or embarrassed by this, just smiled watching his ex-girlfriend and his current girlfriend share an understanding about him.

Lou texted Danielle to let her know that Morgan was willing to join them and she said she would pass it on to The Prior. After that the partners went home, they were free for the next two days. Lou also texted Jonas to let him know that they had a couple of days off if they wanted to get together.

The next day Lou and Kay were at his place, they were snuggled up on the couch together watching an old movie after lunch. It wasn’t long after they started the movie that Kay realized that Lou was asleep on his shoulder. He turned off the movie, it was one she hadn’t seen and he didn’t want her to miss it. Then he picked her up and carried her to bed, tucked her in, got a book, and snuggled in next to her. He laid reading while she slept, occasionally she would shift or snuggle closer to him; Kay enjoyed her closeness. About two hours passed when Lou’s phone, still in her pocket, went off, she flinched awake.

“It’s alright, love,” Kay told her calmly. “It’s just your phone.”

Lou was slightly disoriented at first, but then dug her phone out of her pocket. It was Jonas calling.

“Hey,” she greeted his holographic image.

“Hey, I got your text, sorry I haven’t gotten back to you till now, I’ve been busy at work,” the healer said.

“That’s fine,” Lou said, still sleepy.

“Tom and Irma are coming into the city tonight, can you two make it?” Jonas asked.

Lou turned to Kay, who smiled and nodded. “Sure, we’ll be there.”

Then they decided when and where and said good bye.

Lou sighed after hanging up and snuggled back down against Kay, he chuckled.

“Why are you so sleepy?” He ask.

“I don’t know,” she mumbled against his shoulder.

He suspected that she wasn’t sleeping as much at night, at least once he’d caught her awake and on her phone in the middle of the night. For whatever reason she never had nightmares in the day time, so Kay believed that she was staying awake at night and napping during the day to avoid the nightmares.

He kissed her forehead. She looked up at him.

“You don’t mind, did you?” She asked.

“About what?”

“Going out with the guys tonight,” She said.

Kay smirked. “Of course not, why would I?”

“I forgot to talk to you about it beforehand.”

He smiled, kissed her briefly, and said: “I like going out with you and your friends are cool.”

Lou looked at him for awhile. She hoped that someday he’d see them as his friends too and that they would be friends with him. She hated how alone in the world he seemed. Kay smiled while he watched her, feeling her emotions shifting as she thought.

Lou took a deep breath. “So what should we do until tonight?”

“Well, you did fall asleep in the middle of our movie,” he said.

“True, I’m fine with that, but I’m hungry again,” she said.

“Again? But I just fed you!” He teased.

“Yeah, well, feed me again!” She shot back.

The couple laughed and then got out of bed. Lou got more food and they went back to their movie. It was a quiet, lazy afternoon, but they both enjoyed it. It was just the kind of rest they needed after all the craziness at work and with a big event coming up. In the evening they got ready to go to the club to meet up with Lou’s friends. Kay just had on his usual style of street clothes, Lou decided to be a little fancier. Kay waited for her to finish getting ready in the living room.

“Well,” she said attracting his attention. “What do you think?”

Kay turned to look at her and felt his heart skip excitedly. Lou was wearing a blue floor length dress, that had a split on one side all the way up to her hip. It was shoulder-less with a deep scoop down her chest accentuating her cleavage and a black belt around her waist. Her long blonde hair was loose, draped over one shoulder, on the opposite side of her head there were three small braids. Kay stared at her shamelessly for a moment.

“You look incredible,” he said, still staring.

“I haven’t even shown you the best part yet,” she said, smiling.

“There’s more?” Kay wasn’t sure he could handle more, he already wanted to rip it off of her.

Lou turned her back to him to reveal that there was no back to the dress and it scooped all the down, just barely covering her ass, and hugged every delicious curve.

“Mm,” Kay made a sound of pleasure and crossed the room in three long steps.

He wrapped her in his arms and started kissing her neck.

Lou gasped not expecting to feel his hot lips against her skin. He placed several kisses on her neck before slowly moving down to her shoulder and kissing a trail that then moved to her back.

He slowly placed one kiss after another, each slightly lower than the last one. One hand stayed at her waist to give her added stability, while the hand slinked into the slit in her dress and made a discovery. She wasn’t wearing any panties.

“Mmmm,” he moaned against her back as he kissed it.

The sound vibrated against her sending a wave of tremors down her spine causing her to arch her back. That happened at the same time that his hand found its way between her legs. His dexterous fingers slipped into her hot, wet, center and gently teased her most sensitive spot.

“Kay,” his name was a breathless sound on her lips, as her legs nearly buckled. “We… need… to… leave.”

“Hush,” he said, barely taking his lips off her long enough to speak. He felt her desire, he know she didn’t want to stop any more than he did.

His lips finally reached the fabric of her dress, that barely covered her, he kissed the very base of her spine. She moaned as his fingers slid inside her, he didn’t waste any time. He set a quick pace knowing exactly how to pleasure her. Her moans filled the room as he kept up his pace, then he felt the warm liquid cover his hand and heard her cry of pleasure. Her knees gave out and he had to catch her and ease her to the floor as she breathed heavily.

They both sat on the floor with their legs folded under them, Kay held Lou securely against his chest, her head laid back on his shoulder. She was still trying to breathe normally when Kay snaked his hand back into the slit in her dress and slipped back into her. She grabbed ahold of his leg with one hand, and his free hand with her other. Moaning she turned her face towards his and he leaned his closer to her so that she could nuzzled against his cheek. Just like before he wasted no time getting up to speed, and the room was filled with the sounds of her pleasure. And again he felt the rush of wet warmth on his hand, he loved how easy it was.

Lou, still gasping for breath said: “No more.”

Kay chuckled. “Alright, alright,” then he kissed her cheek and removed his hand from under her dress.

Kay got an alert on his phone, he checked it. “The cab is here.”

“Go wash your hands,” she commanded.

Kay chuckled. Then he stood, helped her up and walk to the couch, then he washed his hands in the kitchen.

“We need to go,” she said when he came back.

Kay helped her up. “Are you alright?”

Lou chuckled, her arm looped with his. “More than alright, I feel wonderful.”

Kay smiled. “I’m glad.”

“Are you going to be alright?” She asked looking down towards his pants.

Chuckling, then kissing her cheek, he walked her down to their cab.

Once they arrived at the club they easily found her social group waiting for them, minus one.

“Where’s Dogan?” Lou asked as she and Kay sat down with their drinks.

“He said he was running late,” Jonas told her. “Apparently he’s bringing someone with him.”

“Oh really?” Lou asked, interested.

“I don’t know anything,” the healer held his hands up.

Lou chuckled, “alright, relax,” she playfully rolled her eyes and then turned to Tom and Irma. “How are you guys doing? Feels like forever since I’ve seen you.”

“We’re really well, actually,” Tom said.

Irma smiled. “We’ve both been moved to a higher pay grade.”

The whole group congratulated them all at once. Once they all quieted down again, they decided to order some food while they waited for Dogan and his date. Tom insisted on paying for the group, so he when off to order, Kiddo decided to drag Lou and Irma onto the dance floor, leaving Jonas and Kay alone at the table.

Jonas pulled out a cigarette. “You don’t mind, do you?” He asked the empath.

“No, not at all. Go right ahead,” Kay said.

They sat quietly for a moment while Jonas smoked.

“Is Tina still having a hard time being around you?” Kay asked.

Jonas took a long, slow, drag on his cigarette and then blew the smoke out. “Yeah, I don’t know what else to do about it.”

“She probably just needs time,” Kay said, sympathetically.

“She needs someone her age to get over me with,” Jonas said.

Kay chuckled, but refrained from commenting.

Just then Lou came up to them very fast, a strange look on her face, she stood in front of Kay. He felt an array of emotions flying her, instinctively he reached out to comfort her, but she stepped back before he could touch her.

“Now correct me I’m wrong, but is that, or is that not your ex-girlfriend over there hanging on the neck of my friend?” Lou asked the empath, leaning to the side so he could see.

Kay looked over Lou’s shoulder and out on the dance floor he saw Morgan Parker with her arms around Dogan’s neck as they slow danced. He couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face. Then he looked back to Lou, who did not look happy, his smile immediately disappeared.

“Uh… yes,” Kay said, not understanding what was going on with Lou.

“See, I knew you were going to say that, I thought ‘I know it’s dark in here, but I haven’t had that much to drink, and I saw her only a couple days ago, so it wasn’t very likely that I misidentified her’, but it was like my brain couldn’t understand what it was seeing.” Lou rambled.

“Hey,” Kay reached out, beaconing her to him, but she took another step back.

“I mean, there’s nothing at all weird or awkward about you and my friend having had sex with the same woman, right? Nothing at all,” Lou clearly didn’t believe what she was saying. “I mean, am I the only one who finds that awkward?”

Jonas was amused by the sight of his friend freaking out. “The real question, Lou, is why does his ex being with Dogan make you so jealous?”

Kay didn’t think it was jealousy that Lou was feeling so he was surprised by her answer.

“I don’t know. I don’t know! I. Don’t. Know. I have no reason to be jealous, it’s ridiculous, it’s immature, and it’s completely unnecessary. But that is apparently the side of the bed I woke up on this morning!”

“This afternoon,” Kay corrected.

Lou turned and squinted at her boyfriend. Kay didn’t smirk or smile, but he held her gaze. Without another word she turned and walked away from them.

Jonas chuckled. “Damn, Stone, I didn’t think you had it in you.”

Kay looked at Jonas, a smirk on his face.

“Sassing her while she’s in one of her crazy moods, you must enjoying sleeping alone,” Jonas teased him.

“Nah,” Kay said casually. “I can calm her down again.”

“Well, yeah, with you Psi, that’s just cheating,” Jonas said.

“No, I don’t need my Psi for that,” Kay said, then he sipped his whiskey.

“Bullshit,” Jonas shot back.

Kay just raised an eyebrow at him.

“You could calm her from all that craziness, right now, without your Psi?” The healer asked.

“Yes,” Kay said simply.

“Prove it. Put your money where your mouth is, Stone,” Jonas challenged the empath.

“How much?” Kay asked, amused.

Jonas pulled out his wallet, sifted through the bills, and then slapped a 50 down onto the table. Kay followed suit, pulling the same amount from his wallet and laying on top of Jonas’.

“And you can’t tell her what you’re doing,” Jonas added.

“Of course not,” Kay agreed.

Jonas then gestured to Lou who was sipping her drink and talking to Kiddo and Irma near the dance floor as they watched Dogan and Morgan slow dancing.

“Impress me,” he said.

Kay downed the last of his drink in one glup, winked at Jonas, and got up.

Lou was quietly telling Irma and Tina about how Morgan was Kay’s ex, when familiar hands wrapped around her waist and well-known lips touched her neck.

“Kay!” she scolded him.

He pulled her gently, away from the girls, who watched amused, and then pushed her onto the dance floor from behind.

Lou twisted around in his arms to face him. “What are you doing?”

Kay smiled at her but said nothing, then he rubbed his cheek against hers as he nestled his head down against her neck and shoulder. He put his hands on her waist and slowly began to rock her back and forth to the music.

“Kay Stone, what are you up to?” She asked pushing at him slightly.

He still remained silent, only pressing gentle kisses on her neck and shoulder. Lou sighed as she let him lead her in a slow dance.

“Is this your way of telling me that I’m being too emotional again?” She asked, putting her arms around his neck.

Kay just nuzzled her more.

“Ugh, I see how it is, not even going to talk to me, huh? Alright, well then I’ll just wish you good luck with your quest,” Lou said, somewhat sarcastically.

He rocked her slowly, gently snuggling against her and leaving little kisses now and then. Lou sighed again, turning to press her nose to his cheek, breathing deeply. Kay didn’t shave that morning like he did on work days, he shaved as they were getting ready to come out. So his face was extra soft and smelled wonderfully of aftershave.

“Hey, Lou!” Dogan called to her happily.

Lou raised her head from Kay’s cheek and smiled at her friend, who was now dancing with Morgan next to them.

“Hey, Dogan,” she noted how much happier Morgan looked than the last time Lou saw her.

“I want to introduce you to someone,” her friend said smiling.

“We actually already know each other,” Morgan said.

“We met at work,” Lou explained.

“Oh, of course!” Dogan said.

“It’s nice to see you again, Mademoiselle Parker,” Lou said.

“Just Morgan, please, I hate all that formal shit,” she said.

Lou chuckled. “I understand, please just call me Lou, as well.”

Morgan titled her head looking at Kay still with his head tucked against Lou’s shoulder.

“Is… he okay?” She asked.

Lou smiled and rolled her eyes.

“He’s fine,” she said, stroking his hair.

“What’s he doing?” Dogan whispered.

Lou sighed. “Well, you see, this is just his spot when he believes that I am, to use his term, emotionally dysregulated. This is just him fixing it.”

“His Psi should have fixed it by now,” Morgan said eyeing the back of Kay’s head.

“Oh, he’s not using his Psi,” Lou said.

“Then how?” Morgan blinked several times.

“He’s fixing it with his existence, and with knowledge of how much I love his damn beautiful face tucked right here.” She gently shook his head turning to Kay as she spoke; he let out a muffled chuckle. Lou sighed again.

Morgan chuckled too, Lou look at her and smiled.

“He ruins all my best bad moods,” Lou told Morgan.

“It’s annoying, isn’t it?” Morgan said.

“It certainly can be!” Lou agreed. “But not when he’s tucked right here,” Lou snuggled against his cheek and sighed.

“He’s found your weakness,” Morgan chuckled.

Lou sighed happily, stroking his hair tenderly. “I don’t even mind.”

“You’ve got it bad,” Dogan said, smiling.

“I don’t mind that either,” Lou said.

Kay raised his head and smiled at Lou.

“Oh, am I sufficiently calm now?” Lou asked him.

“Yes,” Kay finally spoke, still smiling.

“And I see you are quite proud of yourself,” Lou teased.

“Well, I did just prove Jonas wrong,” Kay told her.

“How did you do that?” Lou asked, suddenly pleased.

“I told him that I could calm you down without using my Psi,” Kay said.

Lou smiled. “Please tell me you put money on it.”

“50 bucks,” Kay smirked.

“Eh,” Lou breathed out. She pulled him in for a quick kiss. “I’m so proud.”

Kay smiled.

“Now come back here,” she waved her hand towards her shoulder. “I didn’t say you could go.”

Still smiling Kay snuggled back against her shoulder. Lou sighed happily.

“Empath,” she said affectionately.

That’s when the slow song ended and an exciting dance beat came on, Dogan and Morgan started to move off the dance floor. Lou still held Kay against her shoulder, not wanting to let go

“Come on, Lou,” Dogan called.

“We should go sit down,” Kay whispered in Lou’s ear.

She held him tighter. “I don’t want to let go of you.”

“You never have to let me go,” he told her, snuggling her tighter.

“How do you do that?” She asked.

“Do what?”

“Take me from a place of chaos to a place of peace,” she said.

“I just ride the hurricane with you. Without Psi-empathy only you can regulate your emotions. I just offered support.”

Lou pulled him away from her to look at him. “Don’t tell Jonas that.”

Kay chuckled and she smiled at him. Then Kay took her hand and led her back to their table. There was only one chair left. A fact that bothered neither Kay or Lou. Kay sat down first and then Lou sat on the very front of the chair, between his legs.

“Show off,” Jonas said jokingly to Kay, tossing the money at him.

Lou picked up the bills and fanned herald with them.

“I can’t believe you guys were taking bets on each other,” Tina said.

“Kay and I made a bet on my mom and his grandma once,” Lou told Kiddo. “I totally won.”

“You did what?” Kiddo said.

“I bet Kay that it wouldn’t take more than half an hour before my mom and his grandmother started talking about how we should get married. Took 20 minutes,” Lou told them.

“So,” Irma cut in. “Dogan?”

Dogan smiled and rubbed his hands together. “Yes, so everyone, this is Morgan. Morgan, this is Jonas, his sister, Irma, her boyfriend, Tom, Tina, Lou you know, and her boyfriend, Kay.”

Morgan smiled guiltily. “I actually already know Kay too.”

“Oh, sure, from work,” Dogan said.

“Morgan is actually going to help us with an upcoming assignment,” Lou said, shifting the subject slightly. She knew that Dogan should know that Kay and Morgan had been together, but she didn’t think that he needed to found out right now, in front of everyone.

“With The Prior?” Dogan asked.

“He requested her specifically,” Lou said.

There was a chorus of congratulations, Morgan was taken aback, not just by the group’s reaction, but also by Lou talking her up.

“So how did you and Dogan meet anyway?” Lou asked Morgan.

“Working,” Morgan said. Then she told the story of how they met at a car crush that involved a cardinal that she was protecting. “And then he just un-bent the car without anyone getting hurt, it was pretty incredible.”

Dogan blushed. “Well, I don’t know about incredible, but-”

“Shush, it was,” Morgan said.

“It was one of my first crushes actually,” Dogan said.

“Wow, that was a while back,” Lou said.

“Yeah, about four and a half or five years?” Dogan looked at Morgan to confirm.

“Closer to five,” she said.

“Crazy,” Lou said.

“So you are all from the same social group?” Morgan asked. “Except Kay, of course.”

“I’m not,” Irma said. “I’m not a Psionic.”

“But you’re all still friends?” Morgan asked.

“I mean,” Lou interjected. “We’ve thought about kicking Jonas out a few times, but he can be handy now and then.”

“Fuck you,” Jonas said, but the amused tone in his voice didn’t match his words.

“Now, you two, don’t start,” Dogan said.

Jonas lit a cigarette, took a drag and then passed it to Lou. “You remember Dogan at the facility?” He asked Lou.

“Mm,” Lou nodded, taking a puff of the cigarette. “Bossy.”

“Exactly,” Jonas agreed, taking the cigarette back from Lou.

“That’s just because the lot of you caused so much trouble! You two especially,” Dogan said, pointing at Lou and Jonas.

“Still bossy,” Lou said, pointing at him.

“And a total drag,” Jonas said, passing the cigarette back to Lou.

“Always the dad of the group,” Tom said, joining in.

“You guys,” Tina said.

“You probably just don’t remember because you were so young,” Lou said, after taking a drag of the cigarette.

“I wasn’t *that* young!” Kiddo said, indignant.

Morgan watch the exchange with amusement while Dogan covered his face with his hand.

Lou blew out some smoke, and then held the cigarette to the side. Kay reached out and took the cigarette out of Lou’s hand. Lou slowly turned to look at him as he put the cigarette in his mouth and slowly breathed it in.

“I’ve been a bad influence on you,” Lou said.

Kay smirked at her before blowing out the smoke and holding the cigarette out to her.

“Give me that,” Lou playfully grabbed the cigarette from his fingers, while he continued to smirk. Lou finished the cigarette off.

“He’s feisty tonight, isn’t he,” Jonas said to Lou of Kay.

“He’s actually like this more often than you’d think,” Lou said, leaning back against Kay’s chest.

“That’s good,” Jonas said, then leaned to the side to see Kay better. “Don’t put up with her shit.”

“Don’t worry, I don’t,” the empath said, smiling.

Lou just rolled her eyes at them both.

“So are you all different ages?” Morgan asked.

“Yep,” Lou said. “Sound off, youngest first.

“18,” Kiddo said.

“21,” Lou said.

“22,” Irma said.

“24,” Tom said.

“26,” Kay joined in.

“27,” Jonas said.

“29,” Dogan said.

“And I’m 29 as well,” Morgan said. “You all just get along so well.”

“We took care of each other while at the facility,” Jonas said.

“We each had a roll in the group and it balanced us out,” Dogan explained.

“Huh,” Morgan didn’t know what to say.

“Are you okay?” Tina asked her.

“I’m just not used to that,” Morgan admitted.

Kay leaned around Lou, wrapping his arms around her, to get closer to Tina.

“Empaths don’t often end up as close to our social groups. People tend to feel uncomfortable around us,” Kay explained.

“You don’t see you social group?” Kiddo asked Kay, looking confused.

“No, they never really liked me,” Kay said, matter-of-factly.

Tina just stared, “What was wrong with them?”

Kay chuckled. “I was younger than all them and they didn’t want a little kid who knew exactly how they were feeling and when they were lying around them.”

“But I’m the youngest, and they all took care of me,” Kiddo said.

Kay smiled at her. “They are better people.”

“And you’re not an empath,” Morgan added.

Tina was clearly upset about this, but said nothing more.

“It bothers me too, Kiddo,” Lou kissed Kay’s cheek.

The group talked for awhile longer before Lou and Kay said they had to go home to get some rest before work the next day.

[harperfrogspad]

Partners: Chapter 12: Ex-ecution

In the evening after their rest Lou and Kay were back at the Inquisition in Ivo Martin’s waiting area when Morgan Parker joined them.

“Good evening, Mademoiselle Parker,” Lou said.

“Morgan,” Kay nodded to her.

“Good evening, Kay, Mademoiselle Reed,” she greeted them.

All three Psionics were in their Assistant Corps uniforms. Morgan sat down across from the partners who sat right next to each other, casually touching. They were looking at something on Kay’s phone, Lou leaned towards him. Morgan looked on awkwardly. They didn’t speak out loud, but it was obvious that they were communicating. At one point Lou touched Kay’s hand and then pointed at the phone, Kay in turn nodded very slightly. A bit later Kay gently nudged Lou’s knee with his own and she squinted at the screen, then shook her head once.

“What are you two looking at?” Parker asked, unable to take the silence any longer.

The partners looked up from the phone in one motion as if they were a single person.

“A layout of the venue,” Lou lied.

“Haven’t you been there before?” Morgan asked.

“Of course, we’re just reviewing it,” Lou told her.

Morgan looked at Lou and then Kay, the partners were silent. She didn’t know Lou well enough to know if she was lying or not and Kay’s face was completely neutral. Moreover, Morgan knew that Kay was a damn good liar when he wanted to be, without touching him, he could fool even her.

“Do you know what the deal is with this prisoner is?” She asked.

“Of course,” they said together.

Morgan waited for more information, but they stayed quiet again. “I see,” she said rolling her eyes.

Then they heard the elevator ding, announcing the arrival of someone, who turned out to be Mark Joncière.

“Reed, Stone,” he greeted the partners informally. Then he looked at the third person in the room. “Good evening, Mademoiselle Parker.”

“Monsieur Joncière,” Morgan nodded to him.

“Monsieur,” Kay tipped his head to the Inquisitor.

“Hi, Mark,” Lou said as looked up at him, oblivious to Morgan’s stare.

Mark sat down with the Psionics and looked at the partners. “Have you spoken to the Prior yet?”

“Yes, briefly,” Kay said.

“Good,” Mark nodded in approval. “Who’s on there with him now?”

“Hector,” Lou told him.

“Good, good. Parker, do you understand why you are here?” Mark asked her, in a harsher tone than the one he’d just used with Lou and Kay.

“Yes, sir, I believe so,” she answered.

“Not the most confident answer,” Mark grumbled.

“Oh, be nice, Mark,” Lou said, not even looking at him. She and Kay were focused on the phone again.

Joncière made a slight face at her, Kay smirked without looking up, Lou was unbothered.

Morgan couldn’t believe what she was witnessing. This new girlfriend of Kay’s was talking to an Inquisitor like she was his equal or maybe more like a friend?

Joncière made no comment on Lou’s scolding. “Is that the information the Prior gave you that you two are studying so intently?”

“It is,” Lou said.

“Good,” Mark nodded again.

Lou looked up from Kay’s phone at Joncière, then she leaned over the empath towards Mark.

“If I didn’t know any better, Mark, I’d say you’re nervous,” she smirked at him.

The Inquisitor sat a bit taller in his chair. “I don’t get nervous, Reed,” he was indignant.

Lou titled her head.

“Whatever you say, Mark,” then she leaned back so she wasn’t so far over Kay’s lap.

Mark squinted at her. “I feel like I should be asking you that, Reed.”

“If I’m nervous? Why would I be nervous, that bastard is getting what he deserves,” Lou spat with bitterness.

Kay turned quickly and looked at her with surprise, having felt the sharp surge of emotions flow through her. Mark look at her with concern and even Morgan was surprised by Lou’s words.

“What?” Lou looked at each of them, but had trouble maintaining eye contact with Kay, who looked very concerned.

“Trust me when I say that you don’t want to go around wishing for people’s deaths, Reed,” Mark said. “Moreover, it isn’t your place to say who deserves death and who doesn’t.”

Lou wrinkled up her nose. “Isn’t that exactly what you do? What the Prior does?”

“Yes, Inquisitors can make suggestions based the laws and the Prior decides if what a person has done is something worth being executed for, but it’s our job, not yours. It’s our burden to bear, not yours. Don’t darken your soul with such things,” Mark said.

Lou looked at him thoughtfully.

“Besides, look what you’ve done to Stone,” Mark told her.

Lou’s eyes shifted to Kay and then away, looking in the opposite direction. She didn’t need to look at him to know how concerned and worried her words had made him.

“See you know what you’ve done to him, if you won’t even look at him,” Mark chuckled.

“You’re awfully concerned about my soul there, Mark,” Lou said, redirecting the conversation.

“You’re young, Reed. Don’t blacked your soul so soon, pace yourself,” Mark smiled.

Lou scoffed, then chuckled, shaking her head at the Inquisitor, who smirked at her.

“You’re such a bastard, Mark,” Lou said.

“I’m aware, Reed,” he replied.

A smiled passed between the two. Kay was unbothered, but Morgan thought it was strange.

Then they heard a door open, Mark, Lou and Kay stood up right away, Morgan followed. The Prior and Hector Baretti walked out of the office and into the waiting area.

“Good evening, everyone,” Ivo Martin said.

“Good evening, Monsieur Prior,” the four of them said.

“Do all of you understand your assignments?” Martin asked.

“Yes, Monsieur Prior,” they answered.

“Good, let’s go,” The Prior said.

Once they were at the execution stage The Prior and the Psionics waited while there were final security checks. After they were done The Prior, his escort of Psionics and Mark Joncière walked out onto the stage. The Prior sat in a chair to the left of the gallows, Morgan stood on his left and two steps behind, Kay and Lou on his right, two one step in front, this way the group of them were angled towards the crowd. They stood tall, with their feet shoulder width apart, hands tucked behind their backs. Kay and Lou stood so close together their were almost touching, much to Morgan’s annoyance.

There was already a large crowd that has come to watch the execution. The two empaths used their Psi to search the emotions for trouble while Lou’s eyes did the same. Morgan noticed that occasionally Lou would tap Kay with her elbow, one to four times, and Kay would respond by shifting his weight from one foot to the other, sometimes right to left and sometimes left to right. Morgan deduced that they had some sort of code between them, and couldn’t help be feel jealous again.

Morgan was right, Kay and Lou did have a code. The information The Prior had given them earlier that they were studying together on Kay’s phone wasn’t the layout as Lou had said, but was pictures of people suspected of being involved with the attempted assassination of Mark Joncière or known to be outspoken against The Prior. Lou’s job was to look for their faces in the crowd, and alert Kay. Stone’s job was to “sniff” for trouble, but also double check who Lou alerted him to. So far there had been no confirmed sightings of any suspects.

As soon as the scheduled time came, Joncière stood at a podium and spoke about the laws and the reasons society must follow them, as with every execution. After that the prisoner was brought out, and then Mark spoke about his crimes specifically. The crowd grumbled a bit at some of the crimes, but when Joncière spoke about the 19 year old that he had killed there was a quiet gasp, and the crowd was less favorable toward him after that. Once that was done The Prior stood and ordered the guards to put the noose on the prisoner.

“Any last words?” The Prior asked.

The prisoner looked out into the crowd and nodded slightly. Then he turned to face Lou and Kay, made eye contact with Lou, and said: “You’re next.”

Lou and Kay didn’t react to his words outwardly, but inside Lou’s heart beat faster. She refused to show any fear to this monster who had kill Vincent Cane, and tried to kill her and Mark. So she stared at him stoically even as Martin called for the execution and the trap door fell out from beneath his feet. The sickening sound of his neck snapping didn’t even make Lou flinch. As he hung there lifeless Lou looked out into the crowd where he had looked and she spotted a face from the suspect list. She nudged Kay twice, which was code for which part of the crowd she wanted him to look in. Kay looked in the area indicated shifted left to right to say he didn’t see anything, Lou nudged him again, then he saw: Councilor Harmon. Kay leaned down and whispered in the Prior’s ear telling him who was in the crowd. Martin didn’t look but he gave Kay a subtle nod. Kay then stepped close to Morgan and reached his hand out to her, she took his hand and felt concern.

“Stay with the Prior,” he whispered slowly.

Morgan was confused, but she squeezed his hand to show she understood and Kay let go to step back to Lou.

Kay touched Lou’s elbow and tapped it slowly three times.

“Go,” he whispered in her ear.

Lou moved first, walking quickly across the stage, Kay followed. When they got close to the edge of the stage their target started to retreat. Lou broke into a run, slid off the stage, and hit the ground running. Kay stayed in The stage and calmed the crowd who had become startled.

“Kay?” Morgan took a step towards him, wanting to help him.

“Stay with the Prior!” Stone yelled without looking at her. She stepped back and kept close to Martin, a couple of Baretti’s men were there too.

Meanwhile Lou had caught up to Councilor Harmon, but he pulled a gun on her. Lou held her hands up in front of her as if she was showing him that she had no weapons, but really she was preparing to use her Psi. As soon as the gun had come out, Kay was off the stage and running to get to Lou and the councilor.

“Take it easy, Councilor,” Lou said calmly.

“Stay away from me!” He yelled at her, still pointing his gun at her. “What do you want? Why are you attacking me?”

Lou known he was trying to make it sound like she was the dangerous one. She could see Kay coming towards her, she wasn’t going to take any risks until her partner was there to back her up.

“I’m not going to hurt you, we just need to talk,” she told him.

“I don’t even know you, why would we need to talk?” He said.

“Not me, The Prior,” Lou corrected.

“This is not how The Prior asked for an audience, you are trying to trick me!” He spat his words.

Behind the councilor, Lou could now see Kay poised with his gun raised. She was glad because she was already sick of his bullshit.

“It is when you’re pointing a gun at people,” she said.

“You came at me! I’m defending myself!”

“Hmm,” Lou leaned out slightly to see around him. “Isn’t bringing a gun to a public execution illegal, Acolyte Stone?”

“Yes, Initiate Reed, it is,” Kay said in a stern voice.

“Huh, well, I’m sure that if you come and talk to The Prior something can be worked out,” Lou said.

The way that the councilor looked at her made her think that he was considering shooting her.

“I don’t recommend pulling that trigger,” She told him. “You see, my partner there is really fast, and whereas he probably won’t kill you, even though he easily could, he would probably just wound you and then you’ll still get taken in, they’ll interrogate you, and then that,” she gestured to the dead man still dangling from the noose. “Is your fate.”

The councilor looked at the gallows and then lowered his gun. Lou reached out for the weapon which he put in her hand. Kay came close, he took the gun from Lou and then she handcuffed the councilor; only then did Kay holster his own gun. Then the partners both took ahold of the councilor’s elbows and led him out of the crowd and back to The Prior. Then The Prior and the whole group left and went back to the Inquisition.

Barerri’s men took the councilor and the Psionics went with Hector, Mark, and The Prior back to his office. In the waiting area Martin turned to them.

“Lou, Kay, you did excellent. I’m very happy with your performance today,” he said.

“Thank you, Monsieur Prior,” they said.

Then he and Joncière went into his office.

Hector Baretti turned to the Psionics.

“Stone, Reed, sit down,” he wasn’t looking at them, he was staring at Morgan.

Lou and Kay sat down with their backs to Hector and Morgan and stayed quiet. Kay pulled out his phone and together they reviewed the footage from the crowd at the execution looking for when Councilor Harmon first showed up.

“Follower Parker,” he was clearly unhappy. “Did you or did you not understand your assignment?”

“Yes, sir, I did,” she told him.

“Did you?” Hector growled. “Because it looked to me like Stone told you to stay put and yet you stepped away from The Prior towards Stone and he had to tell you AGAIN to stay put.”

Lou leaned on Kay slightly, finding it uncomfortable to listen to Baretti berate someone else.

“Yes, sir, that is what happened,” Parker stood tall as the head of security questioned her angrily. “I was concerned that Stone might need-”

“Your only concern was The Prior!” Hector nearly yelled. “What was your exact assignment?”

Lou shifted uncomfortably in her seat, Kay took her hand and squeezed it.

“To guard The Prior no matter what,” she told him.

“No matter what,” Baretti repeated. “And yet your attention shifted to Stone even after he gave you a direct order.”

“Yes, sir,” she admitted.

“If this is the way you carry out assignments I can assure you that you’ll get no more from this office,” Baretti continued.

“I deeply apologize, sir, but I assure you that it was a brief lapse in judgment and it won’t happen again,” Morgan said.

“That is yet to be seen, I will be telling your chaplain about this,” Hector said, calmer now.

“Yes, sir, I am prepared to fully accept any and all consequences for my actions.”

“Good, now go sit,” he gestured towards the chairs. “The Prior wants to speak with you all and then after that you will be free to go.” With that he left and went into The Prior’s office.

Morgan had sat down across from Lou and Kay, who still studying Kay’s phone. Parker sighed, the situation was just like before the execution, only now Morgan felt even more awkward. As she watched the partners Lou nearly jumped with excitement, grabbed Kay’s hand and pointed at the screen.

“Good eyes,” Kay said proudly.

After that Lou looked up at Morgan, who averted her eyes. Lou was kinda surprised that Kay stayed quiet.

“Are you alright?” Lou asked.

Morgan looked up at her surprised and confused.

Lou smiled. “I’ve been on the receiving end of many of Hector’s lectures.”

“Recently even,” Kay said with a straight face and without looking up from his phone.

Lou turned her head and squinted at him, Kay still didn’t look at her, but the smirk on his face said he felt his girlfriend’s stare.

“Recently even,” Lou repeated his words with playful annoyance, still staring at him. Then she cleared her throat and turned back to Morgan. “Anyway, my point is that I know how it feels. And if it makes you feel better, Hector is always like that. I’m pretty sure he enjoys lecturing people.”

Morgan’s eyes shifted to Kay.

“Well, not Monsieur Perfect, over here,” Lou jabbed her thumb at him.

Kay smirked again, but said nothing.

“Don’t let Hector get you down, though,” Lou said to Morgan. “I appreciated your help.”

Morgan stared at Lou as if she was trying to read her just by looking. Lou smirked and held her hand out to shake. Morgan took it slowly and was surprised when the gratitude was real.

Kay seemed to stiffen next to Lou he was watching the surveillance video of Morgan’s step away from Martin over and over, she nudged him with her elbow.

“Why are you still watching that?” Lou asked him, her voice almost scolding.

Kay turned off the video, put his phone away and smiled at Lou.

Morgan shifted uncomfortably. “You’ve been awfully quiet,” she said to Kay.

He turned to look at her. “I don’t have anything to say.”

“Bullshit,” Morgan fired back at him.

Kay looked her for a moment before speaking. “You really want to hear what I think?”

“Yes, I do,” Morgan insisted.

Lou watched the exchange with some surprise. She was also slightly confused by his silence.

“It was careless,” Kay said. “And you should know better.”

Morgan squinted at him. “Well, maybe if I had been in on the whole plan I wouldn’t have done it.”

“What you were allowed to know wasn’t up to us,” Kay told her. “And it shouldn’t matter, your job was to remain by The Prior at all times.”

“It was one little step, Kay,” Morgan said, annoyed.

“One little step is all it takes, Morgan!” Kay didn’t raise his voice, but it became harsh. “One step is all it takes for there to be enough space for a bullet to get passed you and into The Prior. The whole point of you being there was so that Lou and I could leave The Prior’s side if necessary and there would still be someone to protect him.”

Lou put her hand on Kay’s arm, trying to pass her calm onto him. He sighed and put his hand over Lou’s and turned to smile at her.

“Thank you,” he said softly.

Morgan sighed. “Fine. You’re right, it was stupid.”

That’s when Mark came out of the office and told them that The Prior was ready for them and then he left. The three Psionics walked into Ivo Martin’s office and up to his desk.

“Lou, Kay, please sit,” he gestured to the two chairs in front of his desk.

The partners sat, The Prior made no acknowledgment of Morgan at all. She stood tall in between the two chairs.

“I am very pleased with how you two handled the situation,” Martin told them. “You defused things quickly so that no one was hurt. You also sent a very clear message that I am well protected. You both can expect bonuses.”

“Thank you, sir,” they both said.

“As for you,” Martin looked up at Morgan. “Monsieur Baretti told me that he already talked to you and he believes that you understand your mistake.”

“Yes, Monsieur Prior, I do,” she said.

“Good, I won’t lecture you again then,” Martin said. “I do have a question though.”

“Yes, sir?” Morgan said.

“For Lou and Kay,” The Prior clarified.

“Yes, sir?” The partners said.

Martin looked at his bodyguards for a second. “Would you two work with Mademoiselle Parker again?”

There was a slight pause.

“Yes, Monsieur Martin, I would.”

Morgan was surprised that it was Lou who spoke first. Martin looked at Kay.

“Yes, sir,” Kay said. “I would.”

“Why?” Martin asked.

“She clearly understands that she made a mistake,” Lou spoke first again. “And we’ve all had those,” she cleared her throat, “momentary lapses in judgment.”

The very corners of The Prior’s mouth turned up, understanding that Lou was talking about herself.

“And if you hadn’t given me the benefit of the doubt, you might not be sitting there right now,” Lou finished.

Martin gave one soft chuckle. “A very compelling argument, Lou.” He then looked at Kay. “Do you have anything to add?”

“I agree with Lou,” Kay said.

“But do you agree with her simply because she’s your partner,” Hector said, looking at the pair of them as if to add the word “girlfriend” silently. “Or do you have an opinion of your own?”

“The truth is, Monsieur Baretti,” Kay said. “If there had been a threat to The Prior, Follower Parker would have felt it, and that small movement is unlikely to have prevented her from protecting him. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t a mistake because it was, her only concern should have been The Prior. It could also be said that if she had been privy to the whole plan she wouldn’t have moved at all.”

Hector looked like he was about to speak, but Kay didn’t stop.

“And I’m sure you can agree, Monsieur Baretti that a bodyguard needs all the information in order to protect his charge effectively,” Kay finished.

Baretti said nothing, but gave a slight nod. The Prior had a tiny smile on his face.

“Thank you both for your opinions, you two are free to go, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Martin said.

Then the two of them got up and left the office, leaving Morgan alone with Martin and Baretti.

Kay and Lou went back to Kay’s apartment, had a snack while they filled out their reports, and then crawled into bed. Curled up in their favorite spooning sleeping position, Lou couldn’t settled her mind, Kay gave her some time without butting into her thoughts. But after awhile she seemed to become restless, Kay placed a kiss on her neck. Lou turned to look at him over her shoulder and smiled when she saw the happy look on his face.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked.

“Talk about what?”

“Whatever it is that’s keeping you awake,” he said.

Lou sighed. “I’m just having trouble turning off my brain. Just thinking about the whole evening.”

He kissed her shoulder. “You know what I’d say.”

Lou smiled. “‘Talking about it will help’?”

“That’s right,” he said, smiling.

Lou rolled over so that she was facing him. “Why are you so harsh with Morgan?”

That wasn’t what Kay expected, he paused for a moment.

“Was I harsh?” He asked.

“Yeah, you kinda were,” she confirmed. “Would you have talked to me like that if I had done it?”

“You wouldn’t have done it,” he countered.

Lou sighed, again he was right. “If I had made a careless mistake would you talk to me like that?”

“No,” Kay said honestly. “But if you made a mistake like that I would think that there was something more to it.”

“Like what?”

“Like an old trauma or a serious lack of sleep,” he said.

“So why doesn’t Morgan get such consideration? Because she’s your ex?”

Kay sighed. “No, love. It’s because I know why she did it.”

Lou titled her head. “Why?”

“Because she was more concerned about me than she was about doing her job.”

“Are you sure that’s why?” Lou asked.

“I felt her concern, that’s how I knew she’d moved,” he told her.

That made Lou think about something else.

“It was her you felt this afternoon when we were leaving the AC, wasn’t it?”

“Yes,” Kay stroked her face gently. “I felt her jealousy when we were kissing.”

“Oh, no wonder you looked so confused.”Lou sighed. “You can’t be mad at her for still loving you, Kay.”

“I’m not, but regardless of how she feels about me or anyone else, she needs to do her job,” Kay explained.

Lou looked at him for a bit, considering his words. Kay was quiet for a little while, letting her think.

“The whole point of having her there was so that you and I could leave Martin and there would still be an empath to protect him,” Kay told her.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Lou said, running her fingers through his hair. “But you were still harsh.”

Kay sighed. “The reason Morgan was reassigned was because she protected me instead of the cardinal she was supposed to be protecting.”

“Oh, shit,” Lou’s eyes went wide. “Did he survive?”

“Yes, it was just a flesh wound, but needless to say he was mad,” Kay said.

“But you said that she was reassigned for the same reason that you broke up with her,” Lou said.

“Yes, because that was the last straw. She has proved to me that she had lost sight of her priorities. And that she didn’t trust me, she didn’t trust that I could handle myself in those situations.”

“If she hadn’t protected you would you have died?” Lou asked quietly.

“No, I probably would have taken a hit, but not life threatening,” he said.

Lou was quiet again, Kay stroked her face while she thought.

“You were still harsh with her,” She said again.

“I was upset,” he admitted. “And yes, I was harsh. If it will make you feel better I’ll apologize to her.”

“You should apologize,” Lou said. “But not to make me feel better, you should only apologize if it’s for her, and you.”

Kay sighed happily, smiled at her, and then touched her cheek tenderly. “Just when I think there is no way I could love you more, you go and prove me wrong.”

“You have no idea how frequently I feel that same way about you,” she smiled at him.

Kay leaned in and kissed her, enjoying the sweetness of her lips for a moment before releasing her.

“You’ve been very kind to Morgan,” Kay said. “Not many women would be like that with their boyfriend’s ex.”

“You mean they’re more likely to flash their gun at them?” She teased.

Kay looked guilty for a moment until Lou smiled and then chuckled.

Then Lou looked thoughtful for a moment. “Well, I have no reason to worry about you going back to her, so to me she’s just another person who loves you.”

Kay touched her face, tracing an invisible line from right near her eye, down her cheek, and along her jaw. He looked at her with such happiness and such love, that is was sometimes hard for her to hold eye contact with him.

“You are so wonderful,” he said lovingly.

“I know,” she teased him.

Kay chuckled and then kissed her soft and slow.

“That wasn’t the only thing keeping you awake though, was it?” Kay asked after releasing her lips.

He felt the shift in her emotions before she could say anything. She was clearly upset, but she emotions were so meddled that even Kay couldn’t make sense of them. She wasn’t looking at him anymore. her face was serious.

“I’m scared,” she whispered.

Kay held her a little tighter. “Of what, sunshine?”

He felt her getting more upset. “Of going to sleep. I’m afraid I’ll see it all over again and if it isn’t bad enough sometimes it’s you I see.”

She was more upset with each sentence, Kay didn’t shush her, he just held her tighter, tucking his head down against her neck and shoulder.

“Or Kiddo, or Jonas, Tom, Irma, Dogan, my mom, even Rebecca. I’ve seen them all dead just like Cane, I don’t want to see it anymore,” she said, her voice shaken.

“I know, love, I know,” he said, nuzzling against her neck.

“I just want it to go away,” she said, stroking his hair.

“I know, I understand. I wish I could make it go away for you,” he squeezed her gently.

“Why won’t it go away?” She said, close to tears.

“You been through a traumatic event, you saw a something that was violent, bloody, and disturbing. Your brain is still trying to process it, it will take time.”

“I don’t want it to take time, I want it to go away,” she hugged him tighter.

“I know, sunshine, I know,” he said.

She had ended up on her back, Kay snuggled against her shoulder the way she loved. She stroked his hair with one hand and her other arm was wrapped around his neck. His arms were wrapped around her, holding her tightly, he placed an occasional kiss on her neck or shoulder. They laid like for awhile, enjoying touching each other, if anyone could have seen them they probably would have thought that she was comforting him.

“I could help you go to sleep by influencing you, it might prevent you from dreaming,” Kay told her.

Lou pushed him away slightly so she could look at him.

“I can’t guarantee that you won’t dream, but it might work,” he said.

“But I don’t want to hurt yourself,” she said.

“Don’t resist, and I’ll be fine,” he reassured her.

Lou paused thinking about it. “Well okay, just please be careful.”

Kay smiled. “I promise.”

Lou kissed his forehead.

“Close your eyes, relax, feel how tired you are,” Kay spoke softly.

Lou felt him in her soul, like it was when he shared his feelings with her, but this time there was something else that she could only describe as pressure. It made her want to push back.

“Shhh, relax, don’t resist,” came Kay’s voice in her ear. “It’s just me, relax and trust me, sunshine.”

Lou felt safe with him, she relaxed and instead of pushing back, she embraced him; surrendering completely. Then she fell asleep. Kay felt the sharp pain behind his eyes just before she drifted off. As soon as she was asleep he stopped influencing her. He grabbed tissues and wiped the blood off of his face, thankfully there wasn’t much. Then he snuggled back down against Lou’s shoulder.

“Sleep well, my darling sunshine,” he whispered.

[harperfrogspad]

🥺🥺🥺

[harperfrogspad]

Kay Stone moodboard

[harperfrogspad]

Partners: Chapter 11: Due Process

Edited to fit into canon.

Two weeks had passed since Lou had come back across the Perimeter with Mark Joncière and it was time for Lou and Kay to get their booster shots. So they were sitting in a room in a Center hospital waiting for the nurse that had been at the Perimeter; they didn’t have to wait long.

The door opened and the nurse walked in.

“Monsieur Stone, Mademoiselle Reed,” she said. “Thank you for your promptness.”

The Psionics nodded in greeting.

“So, first I’d like to take some blood to see how your toxin levels are, if that’s alright with you,” the nurse said.

“Sure,” Lou said.

“Of course,” Kay said.

The nurse quickly got to work drawing blood from both of them. When she was done she put their blood samples into a machine.

“Ok, while that works, is it alright if I ask you both some questions?”

Lou shrugged.

“Of course,” Kay said politely.

She began to ask if they had any symptoms she listed off. Neither of them had any.

“Now for the more personal questions,” she warned them.

Kay could feel Lou’s annoyance.

“Have you two had intercourse since the incident?”

Lou rolled her eyes.

“Yes,” Kay answered simply.

“More than once?”

Lou became even more annoyed.

“Yes,” Kay answered.

“Did you use protection?” The nurse asked.

“What the fuck for?” Lou asked angrily before Kay could answer.

The nurse smiled. “I’m sorry, I know this is intrusive, but I promise it is important.”

“Why?” Lou asked.

“Whether or not protection was use would effect the possibility of passing any toxins between you two,” she explained.

“No, we don’t use any ‘protection.’ What’s the point? We have been checked for STDs, we don’t have any,” Lou said.

“Well, that’s good,” the nurse said. “During the intercourse was there ejaculation?”

Lou put her hand on Kay’s leg and pointed at him with her other hand. “Don’t answer that. Again, why?”

“The exchange of bodily fluids,” she tried to explain.

“Why don’t you just assume that there was a lot of ‘exchanging’ going on and stop asking such questions?” Lou said anger coursing through her.

Kay put his hand over hers that was still on his leg and squeezed it. She understood his message: please, calm down. Lou sighed.

“I do apologize,” the nurse said. “But I do have just one more question.”

Kay felt Lou’s anger flare, he squeezed her hand again.

“Is there anyone else that may have been exposed by either of you two?” She asked.

Lou, unable to remain calm, got up abruptly and walked to the other side of the room scoffing angrily.

Kay watched her with concern, but gave her space.

“No,” he said calmly.

The nurse smiled at him then looked at Lou’s back. While she was looking at Lou her machine beeped.

“Mademoiselle Reed?” She called.

“No,” came Lou’s annoyed answer.

“Thank you, both,” the nurse said. “Again I’m sorry for the intrusive questions. Now I heard this go off so let’s check your blood.”

As the nurse when through the results of the test, Lou came back over and sat down next to Kay, but not too close.

“Well, it’s good news, both of your toxin levels are in the safe range,” The nurse told them, smiling.

“That’s good,” Kay said.

“Yes, so I will just give you your booster shots and then you are free to go,” the nurse said.

The nurse gave them their shots and they left the room headed out of the hospital. Lou didn’t talk, she walked quickly, angrily. Kay easily kept up with her, worried, but he didn’t try to get her to talk. It wasn’t until they were back at her bike that she spoke.

“What the hell was the point of all that?!” She didn’t wait for him answer. “It’s not bad enough that that any number of people could read our files, but now we have to put up with people interrogating us about our sex life?!”

Kay waited quietly leaning on the motorcycle as Lou paced in angry circles while she talked. It may have just been his imagination, but he worried that she was avoiding him. He reached his hand out to her.

“Hey, come here,” he said.

Lou took a step toward him and then began to rage again. “And why is she so convinced that we are cheating on each other?!”

Kay reached out and grabbed Lou. “Come. Here.” He said in a playfully stern voice.

Lou resisted slightly when he first caught her, but then she relaxed and let Kay pull her into his arms, hugging her tightly. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and buried her face against his collarbone; he could feel her anger fading.

“You ruin all my best bad moods,” she said against his neck, her breath tickling his skin slightly.

“I know,” he gave her a little squeeze. “But we have to go to work and it wouldn’t be good if you were rage stomping all over Martin’s office.”

“Rage stomping?!” She pulled away to look at him, indignant.

Stone smiled at her, she was about to say something else, but he put his hand on the back of her head and pulled her in for a kiss. As much as Lou wanted to be mad or indigent she just couldn’t while he was kissing her like that. Instead she sighed and put a hand on Kay’s cheek, keeping him close. The more their lips moved over each others, the more Lou wanted him, Kay could feel her desire growing. He knew what she want, he wanted it too, but they were standing outside a hospital in the Center, in the morning, and they needed to get to work. Lou shifted getting more in between Kay’s legs as he nearly sat on her bike. He was about to say that they should stop, but Lou kept her mouth firmly pressed against his.

“Hey, love birds!” A familiar voice called to them.

Lou flinched, Kay had felt him but because she wouldn’t release him, he didn’t get a chance to warn her.

“I hate him,” she said resting her forehead against Kay’s.

“No, you don’t,” the voice said.

“Jonas,” Lou said in annoyance. “Why are you here?”

Lou turned around to face her friend, resting her back against Kay’s chest.

“Just finished a shift,” the healer said. “The better question is: what are you two doing here? Other than making out on the side of the street.”

“Just getting some more shots,” she said.

“Shots for what?” Jonas raised an eyebrow.

That’s when Lou realized that she hadn’t told anyone else about her trip across the Perimeter and how she was exposed to a deadly pollen, among other things.

“It’s nothing,” she said, then she spoke to Kay. “We should get to work.”

Lou stood up away from Kay and her bike, Kay moved too. Jonas was next to Lou in the blink of an eye. Lou turned and nearly ran into the healer’s chest, she took an involuntary step back and ended up pressed against Kay.

“What were the shots for, Lou?” Jonas asked almost menacingly.

“What does it matter to you?” Lou asked still leaning against Kay’s chest trying to look up at Jonas.

“You aren’t due for any vaccinations. And why would both of you be getting them? So, tell me what were they for?”

“What do you have my whole medical record memorized?” She asked angrily.

Jonas titled his head. “What were they for?”

“None of your fucking business,” Lou tried to push Jonas out of her space, but he didn’t even budge.

“Easy, sunshine,” Kay said softly as put his hands on Lou’s shoulders. He could feel her getting too worked up again.

“Whose side are you on?” Lou spat at the empath.

“It’s not about sides, Lou,” Kay said gently. “It’s about battles. And whether or not you really want to fight this one.”

Lou sighed. Kay was right, damn it if he wasn’t always right.

“Two weeks ago I was guarding an Inquisitor on a trip and we ended up on the wrong side of the Perimeter where we were shot at, nearly eaten by wolves, and I breathed in toxic pollen. That’s what the shots were for, to help protect us from the toxin.”

Jonas just stared at her for a moment.

“What?” Lou asked, feeling uncomfortable.

“That isn’t how they treat the inhalation of pollen,” Jonas said, looking at her, concerned.

“What?” Lou was confused.

“There aren’t shots for inhaling pollen,” the healer said again.

“But,” Lou was trying to understand. “It worked, they gave me a shot two weeks ago that stopped me from going into anaphylactic shock.”

“Did they put a mask on your face to breathe in?” Jonas asked.

“No,” Lou told him. “Just the shot and they said we have to come back it two weeks for a booster shot.”

“That’s total bullshit,” Jonas said. “And why both of you? Did you breathe it in too?” He asked Kay.

“No,” the empath said. “They said we could pass the toxins sexually.”

Jonas laughed. “They what?! Who is the quack telling you this?”

“A nurse that works for the Prior,” Lou told him.

“You can’t pass anything that is inhaled, sexually,” Jonas said. “Not even if you were having oral sex.”

“They said that it had gotten into my bloodstream too,” Lou explained. “I had open cuts when the pollen blew over us.”

Jonas paused and thought. “Hmm, that might do it, I guess. Still seems pretty suspicious to me though.”

“You are so distrustful sometimes, Jonas,” Lou said, rolling her eyes.

“Of the Church and the Inquisition? Always,” the healer said.

“We really do need to get to work,” Kay said.

“Alright,” Jonas said. “Call me later, Tom and Irma want to come hangout.”

“Ok,” Lou said

“Bye, sunshine!” Jonas yelled over his shoulder as walked away.

“Asshole!” Lou called back, watching the healer walk away.

“Come on,” Kay’s handed her her helmet.

“Do you think he’s right about the shots?” Lou asked.

Kay hugged and kissed her head. “I don’t know, love, but what I do know is that Hector will have our heads if we don’t get to work now.”

With that they got on the motorcycle and went to the Inquisition. As it turned out Hector was out and Martin wasn’t concerned about what time it was when the partners arrived. Lou stayed with the Prior and Kay went to have his Psi assessed. The first half of the day passed slowly for Lou, what Jonas had said had gotten under her skin and she couldn’t stop thinking about it. She kept looking at the clock and eventually it was lunchtime she left Martin’s office to meet up with Kay at the AC’s cafeteria. She spotted him already sitting at a booth, she walked up to him.

“Hey,” she said as she got to him.

He looked up at her surprised and what Lou saw made her heart jump, there were bloody tears running down his face. In his hand was a bloody rag.

“Kay, what happened?” She sat down next to him, taking the rag out of his hand, and started wiping his face herself.

“The assessment was a bit intense,” he said, he could feel the concern causing through her.

“A bit?” She sounded annoyed.

Kay smiled. “I’m fine, I promise.”

Lou was still annoyed as she wiped the last of the blood away. “I think it stopped.”

“Thank you,” he said, looking at her with love in his eyes.

After the blood was all gone, she stroked his face tenderly. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” he enjoyed her touch even though he could feel the stares of other people in the room.

“So,” Lou said as took her hand away and relaxed back into the seat. “How did it go otherwise? The assessment.”

“Thankfully I haven’t moved up to 2nd stage,” he told her. “But I’ve moved a bit closer to being borderline than I’d like.”

“But not too close?” She asked, worried.

He shook his head. “No.”

“That’s good,” she hugged him, impulsively.

He smiled as he hugged her back, her concern and understanding filling him with warmth.

After that they ordered food and talked about his Psi while they ate.

“So do you think that it will be very long before you move all the way up to 2nd?” Lou asked him.

“I’m not sure,” he said. “They had me practicing a 2nd stage skill called ‘Influencing,’ I could do for a little while, but that is what made my eyes bleed.”

“‘Influencing,’ what is that?” She asked between mouthfuls.

“If done right an empath can get someone to do something for them.”

“You mean you could control somebody?” She asked wide eyed.

Kay chuckled. “Not exactly, it typically doesn’t last too long. One could have another person go somewhere or do one thing. For example, I was trying to influence someone to bring me a glass of water.”

“Did it work?” Lou was extremely interested.

“Yes,” he smiled at her. “But only when he wasn’t resisting.”

“You can resist it?”

“Yes,” Kay answered. “Is easiest on a weak-willed person, or if there are other factors involved.”

“Like what?” Lou watched Kay with curiosity.

He smiled at her almost childlike fascination. “Influencing someone to bring you food when your hungry or a coat if you’re cold. Or it can be done the other way. If a person is tired an empath could influence them to go to bed.”

“Huh, That’s cool,” Lou said, having just finished her lunch.

When they were done eating Lou told him that Martin wanted both of them to come back to his office.

“Mark is going to be there,” she told him. “He’s going to tell us something about that shooter that we caught, I guess he finally beat some information out of him.”

“Literally?” Kay joked.

“Knowing Mark?” She smirked. “Probably.”

They both chuckled as they left the cafeteria, still being watched by many other employees. Kay noticed, but Lou was blissfully unaware.

Once they were back in Martin’s office they had to wait only a few minutes before Mark showed up. After exchanging greetings the Inquisitor got right into it.

“So our friend has told us everything he knows,” he said. “Unfortunately it wasn’t as much as we’d hoped. He was hired anonymously to kill me simply because he lived in my district, he took the job because he hates all Inquisitors. He dead friend too, he is the one who hacked the Perimeter security system so they could send and receive messages. He said the one who hired him has it out for anyone who actively supports the changes you are trying to make, Prior.”

“Which means others could be at risk too,” the Prior said.

“Yes,” Mark said. “I suggest we up security on anyone who has been outspoken about supporting you in this.”

“Do it,” Martin said.

“Yes, sir,” Mark said.

The Prior turned to the Psinoics. “This will probably mean I’ll need the two of you more often, as well.”

“Of course,” Kay said.

“Understood,” Lou said.

“Was there anything you learned worth mentioning, Mark?” Martin asked.

“Not from the prisoner, but I have received a report from the village Corps commander,” Mark said, looking at Lou, his voice became gentler. “They found Cane’s body and were able to recover it from the other side of the Perimeter. His family will be able to give him a proper funeral now.”

Lou smiled sadly. “That’s good.”

Kay could feel the sadness and regret in her, he put a hand on her shoulder.

“He will be given honors at his funeral,” Martin said. “The four of us will attend it to honor his sacrifice.”

The three of them nodded.

“They also found the other shooter’s body and the radio we found,” Mark told them. “But neither yielded any information that we didn’t already have.”

“Very well,” Martin said. “His execution will be this evening, Stone, Lou, I will need you both to be there, I will also have another empath join us.”

The Psionics nodded.

“When you’re done here I want you to go home and rest,” Martin told them. “Stone, how did the assessment go?”

“Good, Monsieur Martin, they confirmed that I am now borderline,” Kay said.

“Very good,” Martin said.

“Did they have any insight on how Reed felt you?” Joncière asked.

“They said it’s rare, but not unheard of,” Kay told him. “It requires an extremely close bond that is mutual and it’s not often when a non-empath is so closely bonded to an empath.”

Lou rolled her eyes.

“Lucky you,” Joncière smirked.

“Alright,” Martin said standing up, causing his three employees to stand as well. “Mark, you and I have work to do. Lou, Kay, go to the Corps building, there will be another empath waiting for you there, explain to them the assignment for tonight and then go home.”

“Yes, sir,” the partners said together.

Lou and Kay walked over the the Assistant Corps and went to where the Prior told them they would meet the other empath; there they waited. Lou got restless and went to get a drink, leaving Kay alone in the waiting area for a little while.

“Well, well, well,” said a expectedly familiar voice. “Kay Stone, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.”

Kay looked at the slender woman standing in front of him. Her black hair was neatly gathered into a bun on the back of her head, a strand hung on either side of her round face, her piercing blue eyes looked at him keenly, on her full lips there was a soft smile.

“Morgan?” Kay said, surprised. “I didn’t know you were back in the city.”

“Yeah, for about a month now,” she said, looking him up and down. “I expected to run into you sooner until I heard that you had moved up in the world. Guarding The Prior of the Inquisition himself, it’s every bodyguard’s dream.”

“Yeah, I just got lucky really,” Kay said modestly.

She chuckled. “You never change, Kay.”

Stone just shrugged.

“From what I heard you got the job by your our merit and it was your partner who just got lucky,” she said.

“You should know better than to believe what you hear around here, Morgan,” he said calmly.

“Perhaps,” she stepped a bit closer to him, not inappropriately so, but closer than average coworkers would stand to each other. “How long has it been, Kay?”

“Two years?”

“Two years, nine months,” she corrected stepping a tiny bit closer. “Since you sent me away.”

“I had nothing to do with your reassignment, Morgan,” Kay said, calmly.

“No?” She reached out and touched the lapel of his suit jacket. “That’s not what I heard.”

“Well, like I said, you shouldn’t believe everything you hear,” he said.

“Really, you had nothing to do with it all at?” She reached her hand up like she was going to touch his cheek.

Kay intercepted her hand before she could touch his face. “I had nothing to do with it,” he lowered her hand and then released it.

“Hmm,” she looked at him for a moment before her eyes shifted to something behind him, her face wrinkled up.

“Oh, don’t mind me,” came Lou’s amused voice from behind Kay.

Stone turned to look at his partner, she was holding a bottle of water with a smile on her face.

“I only wish I’d gotten a snack too,” Lou said coming to stand shoulder to shoulder with Kay, Morgan took a couple steps away from them.

“Morgan, this is my partner, Lou Reed, Lou, this is Morgan Parker,” Kay said.

Lou held out her hand to Parker, who just looked at it slightly confused; Lou chuckled.

“You must be an empath,” Lou said, Morgan tilted her head. “I’ve never before seen a entire group of people so confused by a handshake. I can almost see the whole thought process. ‘Does she know I’m an empath? Does she understand what I can do? Would she still want to shake my hand if she knew? Isn’t she like everyone else who avoids touching us?’ The answers are: yes, yes, yes, and no.”

Lou held her hand out again, this time Parker took it and the two women shook hands while Kay smiled. They looked at each other for a moment before releasing hands.

“Huh, you are a surprisingly open person, Mademoiselle Reed,” Parker said.

“I know,” Lou said smiling. “Are you the empath we’re waiting for?”

“Yes, my chaplain asked if I could help The Prior with some extra security at an execution tonight,” Morgan said.

Kay looked at her suspiciously, he could tell she was lying, he highly suspected that she volunteered rather than was asked, but he said nothing. After that the partners explained to Parker what their assignment was and told her to go home and rest before they were needed that night. Then Lou and Kay headed back to his place.

“So,” Lou said as they walked to her motorcycle. “An execution with your ex.”

Kay sighed, Lou chuckled.

“You’re not the only one who can feel things,” she playfully nudged him with her shoulder.

Kay could feel nothing but amusement in her.

“And correct me if I’m wrong, but it looked to me like she still likes you,” Lou said, taking his hand and squeezing it.

“Yeah, I think so,” Kay said. “How much did you hear?”

“All of it,” Lou said, as they reached her bike.

Kay leaned against her bike and pulled her into his arms. “You really aren’t jealous?”

“Jealous of what, love?” Lou asked, wrapping her arms around his neck and stepping in between his legs. “I’m pretty sure that I’m the one about to go home with you.”

Kay smiled, ran his fingers through her hair, and said: “you’re amazing.”

“Eh,” Lou tilted her head smiling.

“I’ll tell you all about it at home, alright?” He said.

“Alright,” Lou touched her nose to his.

Then he pulled her in for a kiss, his lips moving hungrily over hers. Suddenly Kay felt a pang of jealousy, he pulled away from Lou and looked at her.

“What’s wrong?” Lou asked looking at him with worried eyes.

That’s when Kay realized the jealousy he’d felt wasn’t hers, he looked around and spotted Morgan near the side of a building watching them. Kay immediately turned his attention back to Lou.

“I’m sorry, sunshine,” he said, tenderly touching her face. “I just caught someone else’s emotion for a second.”

“Must have been a strong one,” she said, putting her hands into his hair.

“Yes,” he smiled at her. “But it doesn’t matter, let’s go home.”

“Okay,” she kissed him one last time before they got on to her motorcycle and drove to Kay’s place.

The first thing they did when they got home was get some food cooking and took off their shoes, Kay took off his suit jacket, then he sat Lou down on the couch.

“Alright, ask your questions,” he said.

Lou just looked at him for a moment. “You don’t have to talk about this right now, if you don’t want to.”

Smiling Kay pulled Lou into his lap and kissed her gently, affectionately.

“My light, my joy, my sunshine,” he said between kisses. “You always try to be honest with me, even when it’s hard for you because you want to be honest with me. I can’t tell you how much that means to me,” he brushed his knuckles along her cheek. “So now is mine turn, please ask whatever you want.”

“Okay,” she said slowly. “How long were you together?”

“A little over a year,” he said, stroking her back.

“Wow, was it serious then?” She asked.

“Fairly,” he tucked a stray hair behind her ear.

“So… what happened?”

“A few things actually,” he said. “I had started to realize how different our world views were, she did some things I didn’t agree with, and well I think she was starting to fall in love with me.”

At the last reason Lou wrinkled up her nose. “Wait, falling in love with you was… bad?”

Kay chuckled having felt her concern. “Not in and of itself, but I was realizing that I didn’t feel that way about her while she was starting to fall for me. And I wanted an honest relationship, she wanted me to just be happy that someone loved me.”

“She wanted you to settle just because she loved you? Not caring how you felt?” Lou was annoyed.

Pulling her closer, Kay tucked his nose into her hair and placed a kiss on her shoulder. She sighed and relaxed again.

“She said that because it was so rare for empaths to find real love that I would be satisfied with being loved,” Kay explained after emerging from her hair.

Lou couldn’t wrap her head around this. She tried to speak a couple times but just could form clear thoughts. Kay waited patiently for her to collect her thoughts. Then the kitchen block when off letting them know their dinner was ready. It wasn’t until they had gotten their food and started eating that Lou spoke again.

“Is it really so rare for empaths to find love?” There was a sadness in her voice.

Kay put his hand on hers and rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. “It can be. But it can also make it easier for us to find real love. In truth empaths tend to have the best relationships because we don’t end up with people who don’t truly love us, it’s just that finding that is hard for everyone.”

Lou just nodded, he felt her understanding, but there was still something bothering her. He watched her poke around at her food but not eat it.

“You should eat, love,” he said releasing her hand so he could go back to eating.

She nodded again and half-heartedly ate until her food was gone and then she looked at Kay; he was watching her.

“Why was Morgan reassigned?” Lou asked. “Wait. Never mind, that’s none of my business, but why did she think you had something to do with it?”

Kay smiled at her redirected question. “She was reassigned right after I broke up with her.”

“Oh, yeah, that would do it,” she said. “I’m guessing you didn’t.”

He shook his head. “The reason I broke up with her was the same reason she was reassigned.”

“Ah,” Lou picked up hers and Kay’s dishes and took them to the kitchen and started to wash them.

Kay watched her, feeling a growing concern. Getting up he walked over to her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and kissed the back of her neck. Lou shuttered with pleasure.

“Come on,” Kay whispered in her ear. “Leave the dishes for later.”

“Oh yes?” She said playfully. “Why would I do that?”

Kay felt her playful challenge, he pushed her hair over her shoulder and placed more kisses on her neck. “Because I have a much better use for our time.”

Lou turned around in his arms, putting her arms over his shoulders, eyes sparkling with amusement. “Oh? You want a nap?”

“The bed might be involved,” he teased back.

Lou laughed, filling Kay’s heart with joy. He loved to make her laugh like that.

“I don’t know,” she said skeptically, running her hands down his chest.

Kay raised his eyebrows. “No?”

“I might need some more convincing,” she said seductively.

Kay didn’t need anymore encouragement than that, he kissed her passionately. His lips moved over hers hungrily, barely letting her breathe. One of his hands was tangled in her hair, the other was on the small of her back holding her close. Lou’s hands were still pressed against his chest, but she slowly slid one down until she found his belt. She had far more experience now with removing his clothes, so even with just one hand she was able to undo his belt along with the button and zipper of his pants. When she teased him gently through the fabric of his underwear he moaned against her mouth. She smiled despite his kisses, he tightened his grip in her hair and pulled gently until she tipped her head back. With her neck now bared to him, he left a trail of hot, wet kisses up and down it. Lou moaned softly as Kay’s teeth grazed along her neck, not hard enough to hurt, just enough to send a trill of excitement through her body. She almost forgot what she was doing, when her hand made its way into his underwear and touched him bare the surprise of it made him bite her neck harder than he intended, causing her to gasped in pleasure. Instead of being upset about it he felt her excitement and desire jump, her grip on him tightened. Then she freed herself from his arms and stepped away from him, but she didn’t release her grip on him.

“Lou?” He was slightly confused by her actions.

“Be a good boy, and come here,” she said seductively, tugging on his length as she took another step back.

He followed her trying to put his hands on her.

“Ah, ah, ah,” she playfully scolded him, shaking a finger at him.

He held his hands up as if she pointed a gun at him, an amused smile on his face. If she made eye contact with him for too long he could feel a flutter of nervousness in her, but otherwise she radiated confidence.

Lou grinned mischievously. “I think the bed is a bit… overused, don’t you think?”

Kay raised an eyebrow as she led him to the couch by her own personal leash. When they reached the couch she turned him so his back was facing it.

“Now, sit,” she said.

She released him as he sat down, then as he watched her with keen eyes she reached up under the long skirt she was wearing, wiggled out of her panties and threw them aside. Next she slowly took her top and bra off, Kay’s eyes followed her every movement. Lou then walked up to him, gathered her skirt up and climbed onto Kay’s lap. She straddled him on her knees, reaching under her skirt she gently guided him inside herself. Once she was settled deep in his lap she put her hands in his hair. Kay could feel her desire burning hot like wildfire, he wanted to touch her, he could tell that she wanted it too, but he asked anyway.

“May I touch you, Mademoiselle?” He asked politely.

“Oh, such a gentleman! Grandma would be so proud,” she teased. “But, no, you may NOT.”

He raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“You may sit there, like the good boy you are, and enjoy yourself,” she said, putting his hands on the couch on either side of him.

Kay watched her with fascination, intrigued by her commanding game.

She wanted to make him feel good, he was so good at giving her what she wanted, she wanted to give him the same kind of pleasure he gave her. Not being an empath meant she had to work harder, pay close attention to his reactions. Lou slowly moved her hips over his, experimenting. She moved in different ways testing to see which he liked best. Kay could feel her desire to please him so he did his best to make it easy on her by giving a bigger reaction than usual. When she found a good rhythm he closed his eyes and tipped his head back against the back of the couch.

“Don’t stop,” he whispered.

His words send excitement through her body. She kept up her rhythm and soon he was breathing heavily, his hands pressed into the couch. Lou watch him with enjoyment as she took him over the edge, forgetting her game his hands grabbed ahold of her as his hips thrusted up into her roughly. She has been teetering on the edge of orgasm herself and when he lost control it sent her over the edge too. Lou resting her forehead against Kay’s, trying to regain control of her breathing, her eyes closed; Kay was breathing heavily too. Lou put her hands on his face cradling him like he was the more precious thing in the world. Kay’s eyes sparkled with joy as he watched her. He gently put one hand on her face, the other rested on her hip.

“You are so beautiful,” he said sincerely. “And I love you so much.”

She opened her eyes, a pure, serene smile spread across Lou’s face, love filled her eyes.

“My beautiful empath, you have my whole heart. I love you too,” she sealed her words with a kiss. The kiss was soft and sweet.

“We should try to get some rest,” Kay said.

Lou sighed and nodded.

Kay stood up still holding Lou in his arms and carried her to bed, where they lost the rest of their clothes and laid down. They laid on their sides, Lou’s back pressed against Kay’s chest. It didn’t take long for his breathing to become deep and steady.

Lou couldn’t sleep, she kept thinking about the upcoming execution and the shooter. She’d never wished for someone’s death before, but she was actually looking forward to the execution. If anyone deserved a noose it was this asshole. Two weeks had passed and she was having nightmares, she still saw Vincent Cane’s face blown apart when she tried to go to sleep at night. Some nights her subconscious was especially cruel like the first night back and she dreamed that it was someone she loved that had been shot. She’d spent every night for the last two weeks with Kay, a couple times they slept at her place, but usually they stayed at his. She didn’t want to sleep alone after the trip to the Perimeter, nighttime felt unsafe when she was alone. Even if she put her own pain and trauma aside, what about Cane himself? He was only 19, just starting out in his life, he had so much potential and it was all cut short and for what? Because some crazies hate the establishment? So they think killing is the answer?

Suddenly Lou felt a soft kiss pressed to her shoulder, she flinched and turned to look at Kay.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you,” he said gently, hugging her.

“No, it’s not your fault, I was lost in thought. And I thought you were asleep,” she said, hugging his arm that was draped over her.

“I was, for a bit,” he admitted. “Were you thinking about the execution?”

“Yeah,” she said quietly.

“Wanna talk about it?” He asked.

“Not yet, she said.

“Alright,” he kissed her shoulder again.

“Did I wake you?” She asked, concerned.

“No, love,” he smiled.

Lou shifted slightly to be able to look at him better.

“Are you just saying that to make me feel better?” She asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

He chuckled. “No, I promise.”

She shifted back. “Can I wake you? With my emotions?”

“They have to be very strong to do that,” he told her.

Lou sighed. “Like when I have nightmares?”

“Yes,” he said simply.

She sighed again.

“Do you remember how I told you about how Rebecca would read to me if I got scared at night as a child?” Kay asked.

“Yeah,” she replied.

“There was one story in particular that I loved. Would you let me tell it to you?” He asked.

Lou turned her head and smiled at him. “Sure.”

“Ok, close your eyes and focus on my voice.”

Lou nodded and closed her eyes.

Kay began to tell a story about an orphan boy who escaped from a workhouse, and became a pickpocket. His voice was calm and steady and it acted like a guide, leading Lou into sleep.

Soon Kay could tell that she had fallen asleep, so after making sure that his alarm was set he closed his eyes and went back to sleep himself.

[harperfrogspad]

Partners: Chapter 10: Anything You Want

Kay unlocked the door to his apartment and let Lou in first. She stepped into the space, “their home” as Kay called it, she felt like it had been weeks since she had been there. And yet, everything was exactly as she’d left it just two mornings ago.

Kay gently led her to the couch and sat her down. “I’m going to get some dinner going. Would you like to lay down?”

She shook her head. “No, I want a shower, that disinfectant made me feel gross.”

He chuckled. “Ok, see you in a bit.”

Kay went to the kitchen to work on dinner, Lou just sat on the couch. Then she noticed Kay’s jacket on the arm of the couch, she pulled it into her lap, hugged it, and breathed in his sent.

When Kay came back that is how he found Lou, sitting cross legged on the couch, hugging his jacket with her face in it. The sight warmed his heart. He came up to her quietly, not sure if she was asleep or not. He knelt down in front of her, she looked up at him and smiled.

“Hi,” he said smiling back.

“Hi,” she reached out and touched his cheek.

“I thought you wanted a shower?” He said.

She lowered her hand from his face and dropped her gaze. Kay knew. He knew what she was going to say before she said it, he knew before she reached for his hand, he knew before she looked back up at him with that vulnerable look in her eyes.

“Would you come with me?” She asked.

“Of course,” he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and then touched her face gently. “Anything you want.”

She smiled tiredly.

Then he took his jacket out of her lap and put it back on the arm of the couch before taking her hand and pulling her to her feet. Still holding her hand Kay led her through the bedroom and into the bathroom. Once there he turned to face her, Lou felt a sudden and inexplicable surge of nervousness, and she knew Kay felt it too because he was still touching her. She immediately felt ridiculous after that, there was no reason for her to be nervous , this was Kay. She was more open with him than she was with anyone else, he probably knew her better than anyone too. But there was such confidence in his every move that was contrasting her residual fear and helpless feeling that made her feel nervous.

“I don’t have to stay, if you don’t want me to,” he said so gently.

That simple statement immediately changed Lou’s mood. She wrapped her arms around his neck so suddenly that it took him by surprise, but it was her words that cut into his heart.

“Don’t leave me,” she nearly sobbed.

“Alright, alright,” he hugged her tightly and kissed her head. “I would never leave you. I just wasn’t sure if you wanted me to stay or if you wanted space.”

“I don’t wanna be alone,” she said clinging onto him.

“Alright,” he gave her a little squeeze. “Anything you want.”

Lou relaxed in his arms.

“You still want that shower?” He asked.

She nodded against his shoulder, he could feel how tired she was.

“Do you want my help getting undressed?” He asked.

She nodded again.

He kissed her head, “alright.”

Kay slowly ran his hands down her back and then under her shirt. Taking a small step away from her, he pulled her shirt off over her head. Her pants followed, his hands slowly gliding down along her hips pushing them to the floor. Lou watched him with surprisingly little emotion. Kay looked into her eyes, she was calm now, still very tired, and thankful. Kay smiled, brushing his knuckles tenderly along her cheek. Then he stepped over to the shower told it to turn on, and pulled off his own clothes. Lou watched him, her face stoic, her emotions numb.

Kay then took off the underwear Lou still had on and led her into the shower. Lou sighed as she stood under the hot water, Kay began unbraiding her hair. Then he rubbed shampoo into it gently, lovingly, slowly moving from her head down to the tips of it. Then he repeated the process to wash the shampoo out. As Kay washed her hair Lou sleepily washed her body. He could feel her exhaustion, so whenever she seemed too sleepy he’d lean down and kiss her neck, shoulder, face, back, wherever was closet to him. Once she was all washed Kay turned off the water and dried her off and then himself. Kay took Lou’s hand and led her into the bedroom where they both put on comfortable home clothes, then Kay took Lou into the table and had her sit. The he went to the kitchen to check on their dinner, he returned with two plates. As they ate Lou was fairly quiet, she was very hungry and tired; Kay didn’t try get to her to talk. When dinner was over Kay cleaned to the plates and then they headed into the bedroom. Lou set to brushing out her hair, but was very lethargic and was having trouble with knots, so Kay gently took the brush out of her hand. He sat down on the edge of the bed and had her sit right in front of him, and his gentle, dexterous hands brushed it all the knots from her beautiful, long, blonde hair. When he was done he stood up to admire her.

“My sunshine,” he said lovingly as he ran his fingers through her freshly brushed hair.

Lou smiled at him. Then she pulled her hair to one side and braided it again.

“Come on now,” he said shooing her teasingly. “Get into bed.”

Lou smirked and crawled under the blankets. Kay did the same and pulled her back against his chest, then kissed her neck. “Sleep, sunshine. I’ll be right here.”

As tired as she was Lou couldn’t seem to fall asleep, she laid in Kay’s arms listening to him breathing, feeling his heart beating against her back, his comforting smell all around her. She didn’t know how long she laid there for, but she was sure it must be well passed midnight. Giving up on sleeping she carefully crawled out of Kay’s arms and got out of bed. She went to the kitchen unit for a drink of juice, which she drank while standing on the balcony looking out at New Paris. Once she had finished her drink Lou headed back to bed, where she tried to get back under the covers without walking Kay. As she was settling down next to next to him Lou put her hand down and the bed felt wet. She tired to look at the bed and her hand in the darkness, but couldn’t see anything.

“Kay?” She said softly, trying to wake him, but not startled him.

He was silent.

Lou touched his shoulder to give him a little shake, he felt cold. Lou was concerned now she turned away from Kay to turn the light on and then turned back to him and she screamed. Half of his head was gone and there was blood everywhere.

“No, no, Kay, not you!” She cried out.

Lou bolted upright in bed in a cold sweat, her heart pounding like it was about to bust out of her chest. “NO!”

She was immediately wrapped in familiar arms. “Shhh, I’m here, I’m right here,” Kay’s voice reached her ear.

At first she clung to him and then when she remembered the nightmare she pushed him away and reached for the lump on her bedside table.

“Lou?” Kay was confused why she had pushed him away, he’d felt her emotions he knew she needed reassurance.

She turned on the light and turned back to Kay and stared at him as he looked at her, eyes full of concern. Then she looked at her hands and the bed, seeing that they were clean she looked back at Kay who was very much alive and very worried looking.

“Kay?” She said his name like she wasn’t sure if it was him.

“Yes, of course,” he desperately wanted to touch her, to hold her, but he didn’t want to push her.

“Kay,” her voice sounded confused. She reached a shaky hand out to his cheek but didn’t touch him.

“It’s okay,” he told her. He put his hand on hers and put it on his face.

Feeling the warmth of his skin she nearly leapt into his arms. “Oh my God, Kay!”

She held onto him like her very life depended on it, she pulled at him as if she wanted to crawl into his very skin.

“It was horrible,” she cried against him. “It was just like Cane, but it was you, and, and, r-right here… in our bed, blood… e-everywhere.”

“Shh, sunshine, I’m here, I’m here” he whispered to her.

Between ragged breaths what she said broke his heart. “There’s… no… sunshine here… only… darkness.”

“My dearest,” he said rocking her gently. “You will always be my sunshine, my joy, the light of my life.”

Lou just shook her head.

“It’s true,” he assured her. “But if you are in darkness right now, then let me lead you back to the light.”

“How?” She whispered.

“Tell me about your dream,” he said.

Lou shook her head hard.

“I know it’s upsetting,” he said. “But talking about it will help get it out of your head.”

She was quiet for moment, thinking.

“You know I wouldn’t ask if it wouldn’t help you,” he reminded her.

Lou sighed, and smiled very slightly. “Okay.”

Kay smiled encouragingly, and laid her down on her back. “Where do you want me?”

She patted her should, “here.”

Kay rested his head on her shoulder and held her gently. Lou wrapped her arms around his neck, buried her face into his hair, and sighed. This was her favorite place. She sighed again, calming herself and then she told him, in detail, about her dream. It was hard at the end, but he waited patiently and she got through it.

“No wonder you were so upset,” he said, hugging her tightly. “That’s my worst nightmare too.”

She kissed his head.

“I was so scared when I realized it was your fear that I was feeling,” he told her. “You were afraid that you were going to die.”

Lou pulled away and looked at him. “You… you felt that?”

He nodded. “Yes, it was the most terrifying moment in my life. Knowing your life was in danger and not being able to do anything about it.”

Lou’s heart filled with both love and sadness as she listened to him, she kissed him again and snuggled back against his head; he could feel her emotions as they started to shift.

“Kay, I…” she brushed the hair out of his face. “I love you.”

He looked at her surprised and happiness in his eyes.

Lou chuckled softly. “Why are you looking at me like that? You had to of known.”

Kay shook his head. “I didn’t.”

“But…”

He smiled. “You must have just realized it yourself.”

It was Lou’s turn to shake her head. “I realize it out there. When you were the one I couldn’t stop thinking and worrying about.”

Kay smiled. “Say it again… please.”

Lou played with his hair. “I love you, Kay Stone, so much. More than anything and like I’ve never loved anyone else.”

Kay felt it, she meant it. Her love washed over him, bright and warm, like sunshine, but also wild and powerful, like a hurricane.

Lou watched with joy as he closed his eyes as his Psi-Empathy absorbed her love.

“Lou,” his voice was low and husky from all the emotions. “I love you too.”

“I know,” she said.

Kay chuckled.

“You’re not exactly subtle,” she smiled, “or shy about your feelings.”

Then she kissed him wanting to seal their declarations, but when their lips met, another feeling arose. A deeper desire to reconnect, emotionally, physically, sexually. Kay felt all of it.

“Are you sure you want that right now?” He asked, his voice soft and sensual. “You aren’t too tired?”

“No, I’m sure,” she said quietly.

Smiling Kay shifted from his spot on her shoulder and propped himself up on his elbow. Then he kissed her, softly, tenderly, slowly, with no intention of getting more intense. Lou’s one hand was gently stroking the back of his head, the other hand was running along his back. Kay began to remove her clothes, she arched her hips under him trying to help him get pants and underwear off, but she also pressed against him causing him to moan against her mouth.

Lou’s smile broke their kiss. “I’m sorry, am I bothering you?” She asked too sweetly.

Kay’s smiling eyes watched her enjoy teasing him. “No, not at all.”

She hooked her thumbs into the waist of his pants and pulled. Amused by her attempt, Kay chuckled, then took them off himself, hers followed. Kay was in no hurry, he enjoyed slowly placing kisses down along her body. Lou was, perhaps for the first time since their first night together, not impatient, rather she just felt. Her hands were in his hair as his mouth explored her body, if her emotions got too intense he would stop kissing her and wait for her to relax again. This game continued for a while until Lou’s hands started to explore his body. She started at his shoulders then down his chest, along his toned stomach and lower. His mouth was suckling her neck when her hand reached its goal, he moaned against her skin. Lou chuckled softly enjoying the effect she was having on him, she continued to tease him forcing him to release her neck.

“Lou…” his voice was strained and a little breathless.

“Hmm?” She watched him, amused. “You want more?”

He buried his face into her hair and groaned. Lou chuckled and hugged him with one arm. Then she felt his hand slide over her thigh and in between her legs, she took a sharp breath when he touched her.

“Two can play this game, you know,” he whispered seductively in her ear.

Lou tipped her head back into the pillow harder and moaned softly as his fingers continued to tease her. She hadn’t forgotten what she was doing with him though, she continued to caress him, soft and slow. Then Kay raised his head and kissed her, their mood mirrored in their kisses, soft, slow, sensual. Neither one of them wanting to rush, they took their time teasing each other’s bodies, pausing if either one got too excited. Eventually it became too much torture and their bodies demanded more. Kay shifted from beside her to on top of her, Lou looked up into his eyes, reaching up to ruffle the hair that fell over his face, he smiled. He entered her slowly, she closed her eyes briefly before looking up at him as he started to move. Lou touched his face with incredible tenderness, her eyes so full of love, her emotions filling Kay with more love than he’d ever felt. He leaned his head down and touched his forehead to hers, they both closed their eyes. Lou was filled with Kay’s emotions, she could feel him in her soul, loving everything about her. Every look, every smile, every frown, every mood, every pain, every strength, every weakness, every perfection, every flaw. She felt his love and returned it all to him. She felt a wet drop land on her face. Lou opened her eyes, worried his eyes were bleeding, but there was no blood, only tears.

“Kay?” She said quietly, voice full of concern.

He opened his eyes to look at her as he smiled.

“A-are you okay?” She wiped a tear from his face.

“I’m so much more than okay,” his voice was light and calm. “I’m happier than I’ve ever been.”

Lou’s eyes filled with happy tears. “My beautiful empath.”

Kay smiled, his dimples bigger than Lou had ever seen them. Then he pressed deep inside her filling her with pleasure. They held each other tightly, as they kept their slow pace filling each other with as much physical love as emotional love. Their souls entwined becoming one, one soul, two bodies. Their love making went on as they just couldn’t seem to get enough of each other. When the room was barely beginning to brighten from the raising sun is when it finally came to an end. Kay was laying against Lou’s body, one of his hands tangled in her hair, the other laced with one of her hands as he pressed it into the bed, Lou’s other hand clawed at Kay’s back. His mouth was leaving marks on her neck as she whimpered. His pace had slowly begun to increase until he was barely in control of himself. Just as Lou was thinking she couldn’t take anymore she felt him fill her deep inside, then she felt his heavy breath on her shoulder; it took him awhile to calm down. He tried to shift off of her, but she didn’t let him, she held him tightly, until she fell asleep and then Kay shifted.

After everything that had happened in the last 24 hours, Lou slept late. Kay had woken up before her and crept out of bed to make breakfast. While he was waiting for it to cook Rebecca called.

“Good morning, Rebecca,” Kay said cheerfully.

“It’s afternoon already, young man. You sound like you are in a good mood,” his grandmother said.

“Oh,” he checked the time, “so it is. And yes, you could say that,” the smiled on his face made it into his voice.

“Well, do you care to share?” Rebecca asked.

Still smiling Kay said: “Lou told me that she loves me for the first time last night.”

“Oh, Kay,” Rebecca’s voice was filled with happiness. “That’s wonderful!”

“Yeah,” Kay sighed happily. “But you must have called for a reason?”

“Well, yes,” she said. “Ann and I were hoping that the two of you could visit soon.”

“Well, as it happens,” Kay said. “We do have today and tomorrow off.”

“Either would be perfect,” Rebecca said.

“I’ll talk to Lou and see what she wants to do,” Kay said.

“Alright, baby,” Rebecca agreed. “You two talk and then send me a message when you decide.”

“Okay, will do. Do you want me to bring you anything?”

“Surprise me,” she said.

Then they said goodbye and hung up.

When breakfast was ready he prepared a tray and took it into the bedroom. He set the tray down on the nightstand and sat down on the bed next to a sleeping Lou. He brushed some wild hairs away from her face, and stroked her cheek tenderly.

“My beautiful sunshine,” he said gently, still smiling.

Lou stirred, blindly reached out to grab Kay and pull him towards herself. He chuckled and let her pull him down next to her. Then she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tightly against her shoulder. Kay breathed a happy sigh and just let her hold him for a while.

“I’ve got breakfast for you,” his voice was muffled against her.

She loosened her grip on him and he lifted his head to look at her.

“You brought me breakfast in bed?” She asked.

“I did,” he smiled at her.

She sighed and hugged him tightly again. She didn’t say anything, but Kay felt her love. Then she let go of him and sat up in bed and he put the tray over her legs. Along with with their breakfast and coffee, there was a sunflower in a vase.

“Where did you even get that?” she asked pointing at the sunflower.

“I have some growing on the balcony,” he said.

Lou titled her head and squinted at him. “Since when?”

Kay looked a little guilty. “I may have bought a new plant.”

Lou just smiled.

As they ate Kay told her about Rebecca’s call. They decided to go visit the women who raised them that day, but first they were going to go shopping to bring them something special.

After their shopping they headed out to Rebecca’s home. They were greeted with smiles and hugs. Kay had brought all kinds of foods that were hard to get in the country. Lou had finally gotten around to getting her mom a new picture of the one she’d given her from when she was 6 with her mom and dad. She had the picture enhanced, made it bigger and put into a organic wood frame. Ann was speechless and teary eyed when Lou gave it to her.

“Lou, baby,” her mother said. “This must have cost a fortune!”

“Eh,” Lou shrugged. “I’ve got a nice bonus coming.”

“Oh?” Rebecca sounded suspicious.

Lou smiled. “Yeah, The Prior asked me to guard an Inquisitor on a trip and was pleased with my work.”

“That’s wonderful, dear,” Ann said.

Rebecca looked from Lou to Kay and back, clearly thinking that there was more to Lou’s explanation. Ann was oblivious to the exchange, enthralled by the picture.

“I’ll have to find a place to hang this in my room,” Ann said.

“Speaking of which,” Rebecca said, gently nudging Ann. Then the two linked arms. “Ann and I have something to tell you both.”

Lou stepped back slightly to press herself against Kay.

“Should we be scared?” She asked him in an intently loud whisper.

Rebecca spoke before Kay could answer. “No, we don’t have a surprise wedding waiting for you.”

Lou wasn’t sure if Rebecca was actually annoyed or not.

“We didn’t give them enough warning for that,” Kay teasingly whispered to Lou. His grandmother gave him a playful glare.

“If the two of you are done?” Rebecca said, somewhat sternly.

“Yes, ma’am,” the partners said together.

“Ann,” Rebecca turned to her.

“Baby,” Ann started. “I’ve decided to stay here.”

“Yeah?” Lou don’t understand why her mom was telling her this, she already knew. “I know. Work is slow on your place, but-”

“No, dear,” Ann interrupted. “I mean, permanently.”

With Lou still pressed gently up against Kay he felt the roller coaster of emotions that went through her. She looked back and forth between the two women before settling on her mom.

“You are going to move in here and stay with Rebecca?” Lou asked.

“If you don’t mind?” Ann said tentatively.

“Why would I? Also, it’s not really any of my business,” Lou answered.

“Both of your opinions are very important to us,” Rebecca said. “If it bothers either one of you, we won’t do it.”

“Of course it doesn’t bother me,” Lou said, stepped away from Kay and reaching out for Ann. “Ma, all I want is for you to be safe and happy. I know you are safe here, and if you and Rebecca are happy with this solution, then I’m happy for you.”

“You won’t be sad about our old home?” Ann sounded guilty.

“Of course not, Ma,” Lou hugged her. “Not if you are happy here.”

“Your dad bought us that house when I was pregnant with you,” Ann said.

“I know, Ma,” Lou smiled. “But dad would want the same thing I want for you: to be happy and safe.”

“But you grew up there,” Ann said. “All your memories of your dad are there.”

“No, Ma,” Lou shook her head. “My memories of dad are here,” she touched her head, “and here,” she touched her chest over her heart.

Ann touched her daughter’s face lovingly. “You are so much like him.”

“I know,” Lou smiled.

“Now come help me find a place to hang this picture!” Ann got excited, grabbed Lou’s hand, and they left the room.

Kay waited until the two Reeds were out of earshot before he spoke. “This is your solution?”

“Yes, it is,” Rebecca sounded indignant.

“Are you truly okay with this?” Kay asked.

Rebecca held her hand out to him, stepping closer the empath took her hand. “We are both perfectly happy with this arrangement and I didn’t say anything to Ann about Lou.”

Kay smiled. “I’m glad.”

Rebecca looped her arm around Kay’s. “You know I love it when you come to visit and now Lou as well, but you two are busy, as young people should be, and well… it’s been nice having Ann here. She’s closer to my age than the two of you and we have greatly enjoy discussing our time raising each of you and sharing hobbies. And we have our own spaces if we want to be alone, other times we just sit here in the living room quietly doing our own things. I’ve really enjoyed it. So don’t screw things up with Lou.”

Kay laughed, “I’ll do my best not to.”

“Now are you going to tell me the truth about that bonus of hers?” Rebecca said.

Kay chuckled. “Nothing gets passed you.”

“That’s right,” she agreed. “And don’t you forget it, young man.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said then he told her about Lou’s trip to the Perimeter and his involvement in it, leaving out the gorier details.

Rebecca turned to face Kay and put her hand on his cheek. “Baby, I don’t tell you enough that I’m so proud of you. You have grown into a such fine young man, and though I wish your work was less dangerous, I’m still proud of you for doing so well at it.”

“Thank you, Rebecca,” he hugged her, then he felt Lou.

Kay pulled away from Rebecca and turned to look, he saw Lou standing there watching them, Ann behind her.

“I’m sorry,” Lou said. “We didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“Nonsense,” Kay said smiling. “Come here,” he reached out to her.

Lou walked over to him and he hugged her too. “What are you so happy about?”

She titled her head to look at him. “You felt that too?”

He nodded, smiling.

Lou shook her head. “Even the happy ones?”

“I like the happy ones,” Kay winked at her. “Are you going to tell us why you were so happy?”

“I’m just happy that you have someone who loves you so much,” Lou admitted.

“Other than you?” Kay teased.

“Yes, other than me,” she nudged his shoulder. “Well you know, with how your parents are.”

Rebecca smiled. “That feeling you’re having is exactly how I feel about you, love.”

Lou smiled at Rebecca.

“Are you kids hungry?” Rebecca asked.

“Always,” Lou answered.

Rebecca got dinner cooking and then she led the group to the sitting room with a view of the garden to wait. When they entered the room, a room that Lou had never been in, she noticed a large picture on the wall of a man that looked like an older version of Kay.

“Is that Kay’s father?” She asked Rebecca, walking up to the picture.

“Grandfather,” Rebecca answered. “My late husband, Finis Stone.”

“He looks just like Kay,” Lou said, still staring.

Rebecca chuckled. “It’s the other way around, dear.”

“Not to me it isn’t,” Lou teased.

Lou walked slowly along the wall where there were even more pictures. Next to the portrait of Kay’s grandfather was a picture of his grandparents with two young boys, his father and uncle as children. And then a picture of Rebecca’s two sons as grown men, Lou stopped and stared at them. Rebecca to stand beside her.

“My sons,” she said sadly.

“Is this one Kay’s dad?” She pointed at the man on the left who also looked a lot like Kay and Finis Stone.

“No,” Rebecca said, she pointed to the other man, who had a very serious face. “This one is.”

Lou wrinkled up her nose. “This one,” she pointed to the man on the left again.

“No, THIS one,” Rebecca pointed at the serious one again.

“But,” Lou started to say.

“You think I don’t know which son my grand baby came from?” Rebecca asked.

Lou leaned away from Rebecca slightly. “Kay, she did it again,” she reached her hand behind herself for him.

Kay chuckled and came up to her, took her hand and put his other hand on the back of her neck causing her to involuntarily sigh.

“What did I do?” Rebecca asked.

Lou had leaned her back against Kay’s chest and his arms had naturally wrapped around her.

“When you talk like that it makes the hairs on the back of her neck stand up,” Kay explained.

“Like what?” Rebecca demanded.

“Like that,” Kay and Lou said together.

“Hmph,” Rebecca muttered.

“Authoritatively,” Ann said from her chair. She had been knitting, quietly listening to the exchange. “Alfie was like that too, that’s probably why it effects you like that, baby.”

Lou and the Stones looked at Ann. “She’s not wrong,” Lou admitted, looking at her mother in surprise. She had just mentioned her dad with becoming sad and even called him by his nickname.

Not knowing what to do with that Lou looked back to the wall of photos and spotted one that must be Kay’s parents on their wedding day, they where both dressed in fancy clothes and on the frame it said: Robert and Adele, followed by a date. Lou stared at the picture as if she was trying to see into the souls of the people who had created Kay and yet rejected him for not being pure. How could anyone not love that sweet little boy? That perfect, happy, loving little boy. And what about the wonderful man he’d grown into, how could they not love him?

Kay, who was still holding her in his arms, had felt her getting more and more upset as she looked at his parents picture. He leaned down and put a little to kiss her neck, she flinched slightly and looked at him.

“Sorry,” she said realizing that he’d felt her.

“You never have to be sorry for your feelings, Lou,” he told her, giving her a squeeze. “I just wanted to comfort you.”

“I just don’t understand why,” Lou said.

“Why his parents don’t want him?” Rebecca asked, picking up on what was going on.

Lou nodded as Kay buried his face in her hair.

“Genetics,” Rebecca said.

“That’s not a reason,” Lou said angrily. Knowing what she knew about the truth of Psionics true origin only made her angrier. “That’s a just a bad excuse.”

Kay’s face was hidden in Lou’s hair so no one saw when he placed several kisses on Lou’s neck, but she drew in a sharp breath, attracting attention.

“Is he bothering you?” Rebecca asked suspiciously.

“No,” Lou tried not to sound defensive. “Is he bothering you?”

“No,” Rebecca smiled.

“Okay, then,” Lou said, leaning on Kay.

“Try not to let my idiot son and his empty-headed wife upset you, love,” Rebecca said. “There’s no making sense of any of it. It’s their loss, they are just too blind to see what they had. What you need to remember is that he’s loved and he always has been.”

“Yeah, I know,” Lou said, hugging Kay’s arms that were still wrapped around her. “But that doesn’t stop me from being angry about it.”

Kay kissed her neck again, this time she just sighed allowing his calm to relax her.

“He stops me from being angry about it, though,” Lou said, nudging Kay playfully.

He finally raised his head from his place on her shoulder, smiling. “I’m not sorry.”

“I’m aware,” Lou said, then she looked at Rebecca. “You have no idea how many perfectly good, bad moods he’s ruined.”

Rebecca smiled, “I’m sure. He’s good at that.”

There was such a deep sigh that came from the sitting area that the three of them all turned to look at Ann; she was still knitting.

“Such a sweet young man,” Ann said, dreamily.

Lou stared at her mom for a moment before whipping her head back to Rebecca and whispering: “What have you done to her?”

Rebecca spoke in a normal voice. “Lou would you like to help me get dinner set up?”

“I’d love to,” Lou said, eyeing the older woman.

Kay quietly smiled at the exchange. As Lou and Rebecca headed into the kitchen Lou heard Kay’s voice.

“What are you making there, Ann?” He said.

“Come here and I’ll show you, love,” Ann said before Lou was out of earshot.

Once in the kitchen alone with Rebecca, Lou asked: “what’s been going on here?”

“I’m going to need a bit more information before I can answer that,” Rebecca said.

“I haven’t seen my mom look this happy since…” Lou thought for a moment. “Before my dad died. And she was talking about him without getting sad and she called him Alfie.”

Rebecca smiled. “We’ve been working through her loss.”

Lou just stared at the older woman.

“Don’t just stand there, help me with these,” Rebecca handed Lou some plates and headed into the dining room.

Lou followed her. “It’s been 12 years since he died, and she’s never wanted to talk to me about him.”

Rebecca stopped, put down what she was carrying, and put her hands on Lou’s shoulders. “You lost your father, but your mother lost her husband, the love of her life. The grief just isn’t the same, love. And I know exactly what she has been through, so it made it easier for her to talk to me about it.”

For a moment Lou just stared at her, then she hugged Rebecca. “Thank you, for everything you’ve done and are doing for her.”

“Of course, love.” Rebecca smiled. “I truly enjoy having her here.”

The two woman finished getting dinner set out and then Lou went back into the sitting room to get Kay and Ann. The moment Lou stepped into the room she had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing. Kay was wearing a half knitted, multicolored sweater that Ann had been working on while she stood in front of him explaining how it should look when it was done. The amusement in Lou was so strong that being quiet didn’t stop Kay from noticing her. He looked at her as she was still trying to not laugh.

“Oh, Kay Stone,” Lou said, unable to keep quiet any longer. “You missed your calling. You are wasting your life protecting people when you should have been a fashion model.”

“Don’t tease him, Lou,” Ann said as Rebecca walked it. “I think he looks very handsome.”

“I didn’t say he wasn’t handsome, Ma,” Lou said, blatantly eyeing Kay. “I’d have him right here if it wasn’t for you two.”

“Lou Reed!” Ann was completely scandalized. “Don’t be so crass! It’s unladylike!”

Lou laughed out loud. “Ma, I’m only ladylike at work, when I absolutely have to be.”

“And then still begrudgingly,” Kay added.

“That’s right,” Lou agreed.

“Dinner is ready,” Rebecca said.

After dinner and the next day the four of them moved the rest of Ann’s things to Rebecca’s and Lou put their old home up for sale as is. Thus removing a burden from Lou’s shoulders.

[harperfrogspad]

Oh, my beautiful empath. You have my whole heart.

[harperfrogspad]

Chapter 9: Debrief

**Please read with caution descriptions of violence and death.**

Lou and Kay were in Lou’s room at The Inquisition, Kay sat on her bed.

“I just want to go home,” she said as she leaned heavily on him.

“I know,” Kay hugged her tightly, wishing he could give her what she wanted. “You just have to tell the Prior what happened and then we can go.”

Then Kay felt a flurry of emotions growing within her, but they were so jumbled that he couldn’t tell what was actually going on. He turned to face her.

“Hey,” he touched her face gently. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“I don’t want to do this right now,” she said somewhat angrily as she stepped away from him. “I just want to go home.”

Just before Lou had stepped away, thus breaking physical contact with him, Kay had felt fear in her.

“This is bullshit, there’s no reason why we can’t have this conversation tomorrow,” Lou said pacing.

“I know,” he said sympathetically, Kay knew he had to tread carefully. “You’re still tired and probably hungry again, I’d rather just go home too.”

Lou stopped and looked at him.

“But there’s nothing we can do about it, Martin wants to hear about it now,” Kay told her.

Lou stepped closer to him. “Kay… I-I don’t know if I can talk about it.”

Kay open his arms, inviting her in, Lou stepped into his arms and hugged him tightly; Kay kissed her cheek.

“Just do your best, no one can ask more of you then that,” he told her. “And I’ll be right there with you.”

Lou sighed, she stood between his legs, she put both her hands into his hair. She looked into his dark eyes as she ran her hands through his hair and caressed his face lovingly.

He gave her a tender smile. “Seems like forever since the last time we were here like this.”

Lou scoffed softly. “Yeah, it does.”

Kay ran his hands up her back, then he put one hand on the back of her head and gently pulled her in for a kiss. Their lips met slowly, tenderly, both seeking comfort and reconnection. The kisses continued without growing deeper, their hands gently moving over each other. Kay could feel how much Lou needed to touch him, to kiss him, to hold him, to be touched by him, to be kissed by him, to be held by him. She was lost to him, to their kiss, nothing else existed to her, and that was when someone knocked on the door. Lou flinched, grasped, and pulled away from Kay.

“Shh, it’s alright, it’s alright,” he whispered as he pulled her closer and hugged her tightly; she breathed heavily.

Danielle’s muffled voice came from the other side of the door: “The Prior is ready for you now.”

“Thank you, Danielle,” Kay called to her.

Then they heard the secretary’s steps recede. Lou was still breathing hard. Kay could feel the fear the sudden noise has caused her.

“It’s alright,” he said again, stroking her back gently. “It’ll pass, take some deep breaths.”

Lou took several deep breaths and when Kay felt her fear fade away he stood up. He put both his hands on her face, tipping it up, then kissed her forehead. Lou looked up into Kay’s nearly-black eyes and he could almost see the trauma swirling in her eyes.

“Ready?” He asked.

She just nodded.

A few minutes later they were sitting in the office of The Prior of the Inquisition sipping tea and eating cookies that Danielle brought them. Lou was wrapped in a blanket sitting with her legs chris crossed on the couch, her shoes off and on the floor. Kay sat close to her, his hand was under the blanket so they could secretly hold hands. Joncière sat in an arm chair calmly drinking his tea, quietly observing the partners. Ivo Martin was at his desk reading one last report, when he was finished he called Danielle in, and came over to the sitting area. He then moved an arm chair so that it faced the couch more and sat down. Danielle came into the office with a tablet and sat down near the group.

“Danielle is going to take notes and fill out the report while we talk.” Martin informed the others. “So, walk me through it,” he said.

Joncière started the story. He explained how the arrival at the village had gone, his meeting with the local commander and how they had begun investigating the breach in the signal that allowed unauthorized messages from the other side of the Perimeter. And how they had gone across the Perimeter and searched for hours before they found signs of someone broadcasting.

***

Mark, Lou, and the newest employee of the local AC office, Initiate Cane had been wandering around in the wild forest on the wrong side of the Perimeter for hours. The sun was starting to set, Lou was tired and hungry, she wanted to get back to the village, but Mark was determined to keep looking. To pass the time more than anything she talked to the young Initiate. She leaned that his full name was Vincent Cane, he was 19, he had been working for the Coups for about six weeks, he was a native to this village, he was genetically unstable, and his goal was to be a bodyguard. So of course he wanted to talk to Lou about protecting people, she answered all his questions the best she could.

“It’s too bad my partner isn’t here,” she told him. “He’s a lot more experienced than I am.”

“I’d love to be able to talk to him too,” Cane said. “But you’ve been really helpful too.”

“I think the key to being a good bodyguard is in your personality. Not everyone is willing to jump in front of a bullet for someone else.” Lou told him. “But I think you have the right kind of personality for it. I’m sure you’ll get there.”

“Reed!” Joncière called for her, excitement in his voice.

Lou hurried to catch up to Mark. “What is it?”

As Lou came to stand beside the Inquisitor she saw what he had found: a small makeshift shelter with a radio in it.

“You see that, Reed?” Mark said, he sounded pleased with himself. “This is what hard work and determination gets you.”

“A tiny shelter in the wilderness?” She said sarcastically.

Joncière glared at her slightly. “Results, Reed.”

Lou smiled and winked at Cane who looked shocked that she’d talk to an Inquisitor like that.

“Okay, we found it,” Lou said. “Now what?”

“Document everything,” Mark answered. “Reed, you take pictures, Cane, mark this place on the map and then write down everything you see.”

“Yes, sir!” Cane said, he then pulled out his map, a notebook and pen and got right to work.

Lou took out her phone and started taking pictures while Mark carefully shifted through the shelter. They hadn’t been documenting very long when Lou heard a twig snap near them. She immediately began scanning the trees for the source. In the dwindling light it was hard to see too far into the woods, but she kept looking. Suddenly she saw a glint of light bounce off something, without wasting anymore time she took one long step towards Mark just as a gunshot rang out, grabbed him, and threw him to the ground, covering him with her body.

“Get down!” She yelled at Cane.

Cane dropped to the ground but not before a bullet wizzed passed him and hit a tree that Mark had been standing in front of just seconds before.

“Stay down!” Lou yelled at Cane, then she spoke softly to Joncière. “Well, I guess we found your attackers.”

“So it would seem,” Mark said. “Any ideas on how to get us out of here?”

Lou quickly assessed the situation. She and Mark were laying on the ground in front of the shelter, Cane was a little farther away, but still well covered. The bullet has come from the other side of the shelter, which meant to get away from the shooter, they’d have to go back the way they’d came. The forest all looked the same to Lou, she wouldn’t know how to get them back to the Perimeter, luckily she wasn’t the only one out here.

“Stay here and don’t move,” she told Mark.

“Where are you going?” Joncière actually sounded scared.

“Just to talk to Cane.”

Mark nodded before Lou started crawling slowly on her belly towards the young man. When Lou got to him she asked if he could lead them back to the village, he was confident that he could. So she crawled back to Mark and told him her plan.

“Ok, Cane is going to lead us back to the village, we are going to crawl until we get passed those bushes over there,” Lou pointed to show Joncière where. “Once we are around them we will get up and run. He said the Perimeter is towards the setting Sun.”

Mark was pale, but he nodded his agreement. So he went first towards Cane and Lou followed. As there neared the bushes that Lou had indicated, footsteps and voices could be heard. They were getting closer.

“Go,” Lou told them.

Lou stood up first, facing the danger, holding her hands out prepared. Behind her Cane grabbed Joncière and helped him to his feet and then they ran. Shots were fired. Lou couldn’t hardly see the bullets they were so fast. She barely managed to push them away with her telekinesis, before she turned and ran after the two men.

“Reed!” She heard Mark call for her as she ran to catch up with them.

“I’m here!” She called back.

She was able to stay in the right trail because she could see Joncière’s dark uniform weaving through the woods. She could also hear their pursuers behind her, a shot rang out. Lou felt the gust of air as the bullet flew past her and hit a tree. She ran faster, but she had lost sight of Mark. As she rounded a tree she saw Cane was facing her with his gun raised, Lou stopped dead in her tracks, and Mark reached out behind a bush and pulled her out of the way. The shooter was only a few steps behind, when he appeared around the tree, Cane shot him dead. Then the three of them ran again, as they left they heard a voice screaming. They didn’t stop for a few more minutes trying to put as much distance as possible between them and the other shooter. When they finally stopped running they found a dead log to sit on as they tried to catch their breath.

“That was brilliant, Vince,” Lou said once she could talk again.

“Thanks,” Cane said, blushing slightly from her praise and her use of his first name.

“We need to get back across the Perimeter,” Mark said. “We should keep moving.”

No one liked the idea of getting up and walking again after all the running they had just done, but they knew they needed to. It was almost dark and needed to get out of the wilderness before it was pitch black. So they kept moving, Cane took the lead, Mark in the middle, and Lou bringing up the rear. They didn’t move fast, as they were trying to stay quiet, but they had to keep moving, they were a ways from the Perimeter. They walked in silence, Lou kept a couple steps behind Mark so that she could listen for any sounds coming from behind them.

After about ten minutes of walking Lou heard a sound come from behind her, the sound of a gun cocking, she dove for Mark. A hot, searing pain cut into her lower back as they fell to the ground. Almost immediately a second shot was fired and Cane fell to the ground crying out in pain.

“Off the path!” Lou said to Mark pushing him towards the cover of some bushes, then she went to Cane and tried to get him to safety. She heard the gun cock again.

“Down!” She yelled. They got behind a fallen tree just as another bullet flew by. Somewhat safe for the moment Lou focused on Cane’s injury, he had been shot in the leg.

“We need to…” Cane tried to explain. “Find a… tourniquet.”

Lou looked at what they were both wearing and then when for his belt. Another shot hit a tree near them, Lou flinched, but when right back to taking off Cane’s belt. Then she used it to put pressure on the gunshot wound.

“That should do for now,” she whispered to him.

“Thank you, Reed,” he said softly.

“You’ll make a great bodyguard someday,” she told him.

He smiled weakly at her.

Another shot rang out, Lou flinched again, her eyes closed, and then she was sprayed with something wet. When she opened her eyes half of Cane’s face was missing, there was blood everywhere, she could see half of his brain, one eye was hanging from its nerve. Lou was in shock, her eyes couldn’t make sense of what she was seeing. She was covered in blood, her clothes, her face, her hands and legs. She couldn’t move, she couldn’t think, she was totally numb.

“Reed!” Joncière’s voice cut through her haze.

Lou looked up and saw the shooter coming towards her, he was reloading his weapon as he walked. She looked around for something to use as a weapon, and when she turned a sharp pain pierced her back. She put her hand on it and felt the bullet still under her skin. Having no other option she used her telekinesis to pull the bullet out of herself. With the bloody bullet in her hand Lou stood up and threw it with her Psi as hard as she could at the shooter, then ducked down again. It hit him right in the shoulder he dropped his rifle and fell to the ground. Lou’s mind was working fast now, thinking of survival for her and Mark, she wasn’t going to lose him too. As the shooter struggled backwards trying to get to cover himself, probably thinking Lou had a gun too, she took Cane’s bag and anything else off his body that she thought could be useful, including his gun.

Lou stood up pointing that gun at where the shooter had been, but he was gone.

“Joncière?” She called.

“I’m here,” he stepped out of the bushes.

“Where is he?”

“He went back into the trees,” Mark told her, pointing. “Let’s go.”

Lou nodded as she shouldered Cane’s bag, then the two of them hurried down the path. After a little while they found a place to hide off the path. Without saying a word Mark took out a bottle of water and a cloth, poured the water on the cloth, and handed it to Lou. Understanding, she took it and started to wiped the blood off her face.

“Are you injured?” Joncière asked quietly. “I thought you might have taken a bullet for me earlier.”

Lou just nodded and put her hand on her back to show him where.

“Let me look at it,” he said.

Lou turned around so that she sat with her back to him and pulled her shirt out of the way. Mark examined the wound.

“It’s just superficial,” he told her. “Looks like it came in at your side and moved left to right. It’s not very deep.”

Then he took Cane’s bag with the first aid supplies and began to treat Lou’s wound. He used special bandages to cover the entrance wound and where she’d pulled the bullet out, that would stop the bleeding. He also gave her a shot for the pain.

The adrenaline was leaving Lou’s body as she sat hidden from the man trying to kill them. But as it left, Lou began to feel, to realize what had just happened and she felt sick.

***

Lou and Mark had been taking turns telling the story, but when they got to the part about Cane’s death she stumbled over her words and Joncière had to finish the story.

Kay was still holding her hand under the blanket and he could feel all of what was going on inside her.

“I think she might need a break,” Kay told The Prior.

“I agree,” Mark said, as he stood, and walked over to the cupboard and got her a bottle of water. He came back, opened it, gave it to her, and sat back down. “Drink, Reed.”

Lou drank some water. Her hands were shaking and she stared at nothing. Martin looked at Kay, the empath looked worried. The three men sat quietly giving Lou time and space to process.

“I should have protected him,” Lou said softly.

“That wasn’t your job,” Mark told her.

“That isn’t the point, Mark,” she said annoyed.

“And just what were you doing when he was shot, Initiate Reed?” Joncière spat back. “Watching old movies on your phone?”

Lou glared at him.

“What were you doing?” Mark asked again.

“I was trying…” Lou bushed same hair out of her face with annoyance. “To stop him from bleeding out.”

Mark leaned forward in his chair and spoke more gently. “You were treating his wound. You were trying to save his life.”

Lou scoffed, looking down. “Lot of good it did him.”

Mark sighed, then shifted from his chair to the coffee table in front of Lou, she didn’t acknowledge his move.

“Reed, look at me,” Mark said.

Lou didn’t look up.

Mark put his hand on her shoulder. “Lou, look at me.”

That made her look up. Kay felt a strange surge of emotions when Joncière touched her.

“That boy died a hero,” Mark said. “He achieved his goal of being a bodyguard, even if for just a short time.”

Lou shook her head. “‘That boy,’”

“What was the last thing you said to him?” Mark asked.

Lou didn’t answer.

“What did you say to him?” Mark’s voice was as gentle as Kay had ever heard it.

“I told him he’d make a good bodyguard.”

“You told him what he longed to hear, especially from you,” Mark told her. “You gave him exactly what he needed.” He looked at her very pointedly.

Lou looked into Mark’s eyes for long enough that it made Kay feel uncomfortable. Then he felt that strange surge of emotions again. Kay didn’t know how to put those feelings into words, but they felt… intimate, somehow.

“It sounds to me,” Martin spoke up, breaking the awkward silence. “Like you were doing exactly what you should have been doing, Lou. But sometimes you can’t save everyone.”

Mark shifted back to his chair.

Lou looked at him. Kay felt her emotions raging like wildfire. She was sad, confused, angry, but mostly she felt such guilt.

“I should have made sure that he was completely behind cover,” she said.

“Reed,” Mark said. “You’ll only drive yourself insane thinking of all the ‘should haves,’ and it won’t help anything.”

“Mark is right, Lou,” Martin said.

She looked up at him. “But you were so angry with us when that house burned down, and no one died then.”

“The home of an elderly woman who has served the Church for many years, a civilian,” Martin clarified. “That was a threat you two should have anticipated.”

Lou shook her head, Kay squeezed her hand.

“Initiate Cane was a trained Corps officer, Lou,” Kay said gently. “Not a helpless old lady.”

Lou sighed, holding his hand more tightly.

“Even Monsieur Joncière isn’t trained for combat,” Kay went on. “That’s why you were told to guard him. Cane was an armed officer helping you do that.”

Lou turned and looked at Kay, tears brimming in her eyes. “So what, I’m just not supposed be care or be upset about him dying? He was only 19, Kay. Barely older than Kiddo.”

“And barely younger then you,” Kay said. “And no one is asking you not to feel upset.”

“Then what are you asking?” She sounded annoyed.

“Not to blame yourself,” all three men said it.

Lou looked between the three of them, Mark, Martin, and back to Kay. And then she sighed, relenting.

“You can be sad,” Martin said. “Angry, bitter, resentful, hate the man who actually killed Vincent Cane, but the guilt you’re feeling will slowly eat away at your soul. Don’t let it. His death is not your fault,” he said the last four words very slowly. “You need to find a way to deal with this or I may be forced to sent you to a psychiatrist.”

Lou shook her head. “Please don’t make me do that, Ivo,” she said.

“Then I suggest you talk through it thoroughly with Kay,” Martin said, nodding to the empath. “Be open and honest and don’t hide your feelings from him.”

Lou scoffed. “As if could. How did you know that we were in danger?” She addressed Martin. “Hmm? What brought you and a whole rescue team flying in when the locals didn’t even know we were missing yet?” Lou pointed at Kay, “It was him, wasn’t it?”

Martin gave her a slight smile. “Yes, it was. He pulled his gun on a room full of partygoers.”

Lou whipped her head to look at Kay. “You did what?!”

“I didn’t fire it,” Kay said, quietly, almost guilty sounding. Then he explained exactly what happened when her fear had taken over.

“Shit,” she said softly.

“Was that when Cane was shot?” Kay asked.

“When did you feel it? What time?” She asked.

“Around 11, 11:30 maybe,” Kay answered.

Lou shook her head. “No, he di… that happened as the sun was setting. What you felt was something else.”

“I think it’s time to resume your story,” Martin said.

Lou nodded. She told them that after Mark has patched her up, they keep moving so long as they had even a tiny bit of sunlight left they walked towards it.

***

Mark and Lou were moving slowly in the fading light, they were no longer on a path. They didn’t use a flashlight because they didn’t want to attract the attention of their pursuer. Mark led the way so that Lou could protect him from behind. They kept moving, even after the sunlight had gone. Cane had had a compass in his bag and Joncière was using it to make sure they were going the right way. This went on for an hour and then they saw a yellow haze in the sky.

“What is that?” Lou asked.

“Shit,” Mark swore. “It’s pollen. If we breathe it in it could kill us.”

“Fantastic,” Lou said sarcastically.

They changed direction trying to stay away from it, but the wind had picked up and was blowing it right at them.

“We aren’t going to be able to outrun it,” Lou said. She looked through Cane’s bag and pulled out a mask that was no doubt for this very reason, but there was only one. “Cover your mouth and nose with this.”

“What about you?” Mark asked, putting the mask on.

She pulled out a cloth, “I’ll be fine.”

They found a little cover under a bush with big leaves. The wave of pollen blew over them for any ten minutes before the air cleared again. As soon as the pollen was gone Lou started coughing and having trouble breathing.

“Damn it,” Mark grabbed the bag from her and dig around until he found an epipen and then he stuck her with it. Her breathing returned to normal almost immediately. “That won’t last, you’ll have to get an antidote once we get back across the Perimeter.

“Great,” Lou choked out.

Their clothes were covered in the yellow pollen. While wearing gloves they dusted themselves off as best they could. Then they continued on their way. They didn’t get far before Mark decided that it would be better to just bunker down for the night. So they found a place to settle down, hidden under a big bush. They drank water and ate some tasteless protein bars, then Mark yawned.

“You should try to get some sleep,” Lou said. “I’ll keep watch.”

“Are you sure?” Joncière asked.

Lou was a bit surprised by him asking. “Yeah, I’m here to protect you, remember?”

“Alright,” he said. “Wake me in a few hours and I’ll take over.”

Lou looked at him for a moment before nodding. “Deal.”

Mark cleared a spot on the ground to lay and used Cane’s bag as a pillow. He was asleep in just minutes. Lou sat in the dark, alone with her thoughts for about an hour before a sound caught her attention. It sounded like walking, but wrong somehow. Trying to be as silent as possible she looked around trying to see when the noise was coming from, luckily the moon was bright. Then she spotted the source of the sound, her heart immediately began to pound. It wasn’t the shooter, it was a wolf. Lou had never seen one in person, it was huge. It was sniffing around, she remembered from TV and old movies that wolves could track by sent and that they were in a whole new kind of danger now. Lou crept over to the sleeping Inquisitor and gently put her hand over his mouth. Mark flinched slightly when he woke up, he looked at Lou surprised, she put her finger to her lips. He nodded his head, she took her hand off of his mouth and then curled her finger telling him to follow her. The two moved silently to where Lou had seen the wolf and she pointed, Mark looked and saw the wolf too. His face paled, stepping back slowly, beckoning her to follow him. He took hold of Lou’s shoulders and pulled her close, his lips almost touched her ear where he whispered barely audible.

“We have to go, they hunt in packs.”

Lou had forgotten that detail. As quietly as they could they pick up their things and moved through the woods. They had barely managed to get 20 meters away when they heard the wolf howl.

“Run!” Lou called to Joncière.

The two ran through the trees, with only the moonlight to see by, with at least one wolf after them. The more they ran, the greater feeling of dread Lou felt. Suddenly Mark tripped and fell down in front of her, she was moving so fast that she tumbled over the top of him. They tried to get up and keep going, but they heard growling in the trees.

“Shit,” Lou said. She stood up and pulled out Cane’s gun. Pointing it out into the woods and turning slowly trying to see where the wolf was.

All Lou saw was darkness, another growl came from beside her, then another from the other side; they were surrounded. Panic threatened to over take her, she couldn’t see any way out of this, she could almost feel death in the air. Lou instinctively thought of the one person she wanted to see most, the one person who had become more important to her than she could have ever imagined, the person she loved so much, the one person who could save her right now: Kay Stone. And then as if guided by an unseen force she swept the gun back and forth. Then she fired, a whimper was heard, she moved and fired again, and a third time. Then her aim landed on one spot and didn’t move, she didn’t fire. Suddenly a wolf jumped out right at her, she pulled the trigger, the wolf landed on her knocking her to the ground.

“Reed!” Mark came up to her. He pushed the wolf off, Lou had a claw mark on her arm, but was otherwise fine, breathing hard.

“How did you..?” Mark started to asked. Then they heard more growling.

“Run!” Lou yelled.

They both got up and ran, a wolf was hot on their tail. They couldn’t outrun it, it was gaining on them. Suddenly the wolf leaped at Mark managing to sink its teeth into his leg, he cried out in pain. Lou turned and without any hesitation shot the wolf in the head, it fell dead, releasing Mark’s leg. Lou pulled him to his feet, threw his arm over her shoulder and drug him along with her, not sure if they were safe yet. The forest was quiet as they moved slowly along. Then Lou saw a huge fallen tree, it was the biggest tree she’d even seen. It had clearly been dead for a long time, huge parts of it were all rotted out, making it hollow in places. She led Mark to it, sat him down, and set to work, treating his leg.

“Reed,” his voice was weak.

“I know, I know,” she said, trying to hurry.

“No, stop,” he said, putting a hand on hers.

Lou stared at him. “What? Why?”

“It bit me…”

“I understand that, I’m trying to-“

“No, you don’t understand,” He began to wheeze. “Allergic… reaction.”

“Oh, crap,” Lou finally understood. She when back into Cane’s bag and looked for another epipen, Mark was struggling even more to breathe. “Hang on, hang on!”

Mark choked and then passed out.

“Shit, shit, shit,” Lou dumped the whole bag out and finally found what she needed. As fast as she could she read the directions and then give him the shot to him; nothing happened.

She laid him down flat and started CPR. “Damnit, Mark don’t you fucking die on me!”

Joncière gasped sharply and began breathing again.

“Glory to the United One,” Lou said softly.

Still gasping a bit Mark spoke: “careful, Reed. It almost sounded like you care about me.”

“Hey, I can’t have my favorite Inquisitor dying on me,” she joked. “I’ll stuck with a horrible one, like Güler.”

Their situation finally having an effect on him, Joncière laughed. “You’re alright, Lou Reed.”

“Yeah, you aren’t as big of a bastard as I originally thought either.”

Mark laughed again, and then he became serious. “That’s the second time you saved my life today, Reed.”

Lou shrugged. “Martin told me to keep you safe.”

“So he did,” Mark looked at her, they both knew that wasn’t what drove her. She protected out of instinct, not because of orders.

After that Lou finished treating the bit on Mark’s leg. She had to wash it thoroughly with alcohol to get all the wolf’s saliva out of the wound. Once that was done she bandaged it up. Then she found a hollow spot in the huge fallen tree that was hidden and they settled in for the rest of the night. Mark told Lou to go to sleep first, she was out in mere minutes. Her rest didn’t last, about two hours later she was awoken by her inability to breathe, Mark gave her another epi shot, and they traded. After Mark was asleep he was restless, feverish. Lou looked through Cane’s bag again and found an antibiotic which she gave to him, he settled down after awhile. Once Mark was sleeping soundly Lou climbed on top of the fallen tree where she could see at a much greater distance, even with just the moonlight. She never wore Mark again, afraid to sleep she just stayed awake the rest of the night keeping watch. When the sun started to raise Lou saw a man walking towards the tree she sat on, he carried a rifle on his left shoulder, he carried his right arm up, like his shoulder hurt. A plan formed in Lou’s mind.

She quietly climbed down the fallen tree and creeped in to the cover of the bushes along the path the shooter was walking. He had found the last wolf that Lou had killed, he stopped to inspect the area. She realized that he was a good tracker. She reached her hand out and tried to feel for the bullet that she had thrown into him. It took a little searching, but she found it, and twisted it inside him. The shooter screamed and grabbed his shoulder, dropping his rifle as he did. Lou twisted it harder, he fell to his knees. That’s when Lou came out of hiding, she walked up to him, picked up his rifle, and tucked it under her arm. She felt the pain behind her eyes and the blood that flowed down her face. She let up on her hold of the bullet a little. The shooter looked up at her.

“You’re a Psionic?” He asked, voice strained. “Why are you helping them?”

“Get up,” Lou ordered.

“Don’t you know what they think of you?”

“None of my business,” Lou said.

“You’re just a tool to them,” he said. “Not even fully human.”

“Heard it all before,” Lou was getting annoyed. “Now get up.”

“Listen,” he started to bargain. “My beef isn’t with you, I want the Inquisitor.”

“You can’t have him,” Lou growled.

“What, is he your lover?”

Lou scoffed.

“Why do you care so much?” The shooter said weakly.

“I don’t, it’s my job to protect him.”

“He doesn’t deserve your protection,” he said.

“You shot an innocent young man yesterday, I don’t care if he doesn’t deserve my protection. I’m taking you to face justice for the 19 year old you killed,” Lou said angrily.

Realizing that taking his way it wasn’t going to work, the shooter tried a different tactic. “The little shit deserved it, he killed my best friend. You’d better be sure to shower later, you might still have some of his brain in your hair.”

Lou felt a floor of emotions, fear, anger, horror, disgust, pain, lost. She twisted the bullet roughly inside him, he screamed.

“Get. Up.” Lou demanded. She felt the pain and the blood that ran from her eyes, but she ignored it.

“Okay, okay,” he cried.

Letting go a little, Lou stepped away from him. The shooter stood up, and Lou lead him back to the fallen tree.

“Mark! Wake up!” She called.

The Inquisitor was already awake. “Reed, where the hell have-” He saw who was with her. “Well done, Reed. I see you caught it our friend.”

Lou smiled, “yep, now let’s get the fuck out of here.”

Mark collected their things and limped over to Lou who held his arm over her shoulder and they moved towards the Perimeter as the sun was raising behind them.

***

“He struggled several more times trying to wear out my Psi, but he didn’t. You know the rest,” Lou ended the story.

They was silence in the room for several minutes as Martin and Kay processed everything they had just heard.

“How did you shot all those wolves, anyway?” Mark asked.

Lou just pointed at Kay.

Kay looked at her, confused.

“That’s what you felt when you were out with Ivo,” she told him. “You felt me and I felt you.”

Kay kept staring. “You felt me?”

“As real as if you stood behind me guiding my hands,” she looked at him. “You saved us.”

Kay didn’t know what to say, he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Extraordinary,” Martin said looking at the pair of them.

“What?” Lou asked.

“How,” Mark started, “is that even possible?

“What?” Lou said again.

“I’ve never heard of it,” Kay said.

“What?!” Lou almost yelled.

Kay squeezed her hand. “Sorry. It’s just that I’ve never heard of a non-empath being able to feel an empath’s emotions or sense without physical contact.”

“But you feel me all the time,” she objected.

“I feel you, yes,” Kay said. “I have a very strong perception of you, but you don’t feel me every time I feel you, right?”

“No, that was the first time,” she admitted.

“Interesting,” Martin said. “We might have to check your Psi again, Kay. You may have gone up a stage.”

“But it isn’t just about his stage,” Mark said.

“No,” Martin agreed. “It’s about their bond,” he smiled, softly at the Psionics. “But now I think it’s time to end this conversation. You all should go home and get some rest. You three take the next two days off, no objections.”

They all nodded, and stood up.

“Monsieur Martin?” Kay said.

“Yes?” The Prior looked at his bodyguard.

“There was one more thing,” Kay hesitated.

“Danielle?” Martin called his secretary. “Would you help Lou get her belongings together?”

“Of course,” Danielle gently took Lou by the arm and the women walked out of the office.

The Prior look at Kay.

“It’s about the event,” Kay stated. “And Councilor Harmon.” He told them his suspicions about the councilor never greeting the Prior, the way he had watched Kay, and how it seemed that Kay’s Psi had led him to the councilor.

“That is very interesting, I appreciate your observations,” The Prior said. “Now go home, Kay.”

“Yes, sir,” Kay headed to the door, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

It was Mark Joncière’s hand. Kay looked at him surprised, Joncière had never so much as shook Kay’s hand.

“Take care of her, Stone,” he said seriously. “She is going to need you, even if she doesn’t want to admit it.”

Kay felt real, genuine concern in the Inquisitor. “I will,” he said sincerely. “And thank you, Monsieur, for everything you did for her out there.”

Joncière took his hand off of Kay and scoffed. “I did nothing really, she’s the one who got us out of there.”

“Take care, Monsieur Joncière,” Kay said.

“Good night, Stone,” he said.

And then they went home.

[harperfrogspad]

Partners: Chapter 8: Occupational Hazard

Kay had just told the Prior that he thought he could find Lou and Mark with his Psi.

The Prior wasted no time. “Hector, get you men,” Baretti disappeared immediately. “Commander, get yours as well, and send for my medical team.”

“Right away, Monsieur Prior!” The man ran off to carry out the order.

Martin put his hand on Kay’s should, “Let’s go get them back.”

The two of them went outside where they waited for Baretti and his men. Once Hector and his men were there Kay led the group towards the Perimeter, and then along it. The group set a quick pace along side the scorched earth that separated them from the wild, outside world. At last Kay stopped and waited for the rest of the group to catch up to him.

Once the Prior stood next to him, Kay spoke. “That way,” he pointed across the Perimeter and into the frost beyond. Kay took a step forward, but was immediately grabbed by the local commander.

“Are you crazy?” He said, pulling Kay back. “You can’t go in there!”

“We have been across the Perimeter before, Commander,” the Prior said calmly.

“No, sir, I understand, but look,” he pointed above the trees where there was a yellow haze in the air. “That is pollen, breathing it in will kill you.”

The group stared at deadly pollen in the air.

“Kay?” Martin called. “Can you still feel her?”

“Yes, sir, just beyond the trees,” Kay’s heart was pounding, they were so close, they had to find a way.

“How close can we get before we are in danger?” Martin asked.

“I’m no expert, Monsieur Prior,” the commander said. “The only place I can guarantee your safety, sir, is on this side of the Perimeter.”

Kay was trying to think of how he could talk the Prior into letting him go by himself, when he felt something else.

“Hostile incoming!” He called out, pulling his Ultimatum from its holster, and stepping in front of Martin.

Hector and his men also closed in around the Prior and raised their weapons. They all pointed their guns toward the spot where Stone was pointing his.

From that spot a man stumbled out of the woods and fell onto his knees; he didn’t appear to have a weapon. Though the tree line was probably 50 meters from them, so it was hard to be sure.

“Hold fire,” Baretti said.

The man started to raise his hand slowly. Just then hooded figure burst out of the trees. Kay recognized them immediately, he lowered his weapon slightly. The new figure ran out in front of the man on his knees, held up a hand, threw off their hood, and yelled.

“Don’t shoot!” A long blonde braid whipped out behind her. Dried tracks of bloody tears streaked down her face, her clothes seemed to be tinged with yellow.

“Hold your fire!” The Prior yelled.

There stood Lou Reed, Kay’s heart leapt for joy when he saw her. Her eyes lingered on him for a brief second before she turned and disappeared back into the woods, leaving the man on his knees where he was. After a few tense breaths two figures could be seen emerging from the woods. Lou and a figure in dark Inquisitor clothing, Mark Joncière. His arm was over Lou’s shoulder and he was limping. Lou’s hand was outstretched to the man on the ground. She pushed her hand forward and the man fell forward, then stood up and started walking. The group of three moved slowly towards the safe side of the Perimeter. Once they were close enough to be easily heard the trio stopped.

Kay was staring at Lou, she looked like hell. Her clothes were not only covered in the deadly yellow pollen, but also blood. Her braided hair was messy, there was a lot of dried blood in tracks from her eyes. There were dark circles under her eyes, and she looked exhausted. Her right hand was still outstretched in a fist to the man in front of them as if holding him by an invisible leash.

“It’s not safe for us to come any closer yet,” Mark said, his clothes were tinged in yellow just like Lou’s. His right pant leg had a lot blood on it. “We are going need to be thoroughly disinfected first.”

“A medical team is on the way,” Martin said stepping out from his thick circle of guards slightly. “And the disinfection crew. And who is this gentleman with you?”

“A fanatic and a traitor,” Joncière answered. “He’s been trying to kill us since last night, but he has valuable information we need.”

“I see,” Martin said. Much quieter he told his guards not to shoot the prisoner unless it was to save Mark or Lou’s lives. “The Commander informed me that there were three locals missing.”

Mark made a face. “The young Initiate kill the other fanatic, to protect Reed and myself.”

“Where is he?” The commander asked.

Mark shot Lou a worried look. “Dead, I’m afraid. This one killed him.” He pointed at their prisoner.

Kay felt Lou’s emotions flare, grief, anger, horror, and guilt. She was avoiding looking at anyone, her face stoic.

“Stupid, church pet deserved it,” the prisoner said.

Lou twisted her fist in the air and the prisoner screamed in pain. It had become clear to Kay that there was a foreign object in the prisoner’s body somewhere and that’s how Lou has been keeping him under control. The prisoner fell to his knees and writhed in pain.

“Lou, stop,” Martin said to her. She didn’t stop, it was like she didn’t even hear the Prior’s voice.

“Easy Reed,” Mark said calmly, “we don’t want to stoop to their level now.”

Lou turned her hand and the prisoner fell silent, his breathing rough.

“Filthy church whore!” He spat at her.

“Mmhmm, just keep saying it,” Lou answered, her voice devoid of any emotion. “I’m sure one of these times it will actually upset me.”

Mark chuckled, “always with that mouth, Reed.”

Lou shrugged at Mark. She looked even more pale.

“Is this man one of the ones you were looking for?” Martin asked Mark, trying to not be too obvious when his question.

“Yes, sir, he is,” Mark said, a slight gleam in his eyes.

“Excellent,” Martin said.

Lou swayed next to Joncière. “Mark…” her voice was weak, her breathing rough.

“Reed?” Mark looked at her with concern. “Do you have anymore pens on you?”

Lou shook her head, breathing fast, shallow breaths. “We used them all already.”

“Shit,” Mark swore. “Where’s that medical team?”

“Hector?” Martin said.

“On it,” Hector grabbed his phone and started making a call.

“What is it, Mark?” The Prior asked as Lou’s breathing was even rougher.

“Anaphylactic shock,” Mark told him. “She breathed in the pollen. We’ve been giving her Epinephrine, but we’re out.”

“Lou!” Kay called, starting to move towards her.

The Prior himself grabbed Kay’s arm. “You can’t go out there, we can’t risk you too.”

Kay knew he was right, but what did Martin expect him to do, stand here and watch her die?

“Mark…” Lou’s voice was weaker and her breathing even more shallow.

“Easy, Reed,” Mark was trying to keep her on her feet.

“Deal with him,” she pointed at the prisoner. She was getting weaker by the second, she wasn’t going to be able to keep him under control much longer.

Joncière moved over to the prisoner, who was still on his knees, and grabbed him.

Lou was struggling to breathe and was slowly sinking to the ground unable to stay on her feet. Then she laid down, gasping for breath, and the telekinetic grip she’d had on the prisoner slipped.

The prisoner immediately began struggling with Mark, trying to throw off the Inquisitor. They were fairly evenly matched, keeping their fight a stalemate.

Just then the medical and disinfection teams came running onto the scene.

The prior quickly explained what was needed. Lou laid on the ground, still fighting to breath when one of the healers threw a epipen at her, it didn’t quite reach her. She reached her hand out tried to use her Psi to pull it closer. Just then the prisoner got a lucky hit on Mark, knocking him to the ground and then started to choke him. Lou, hearing the scuffle, turned her head towards the two fighting men and reached out. Her fingers seemed to twitch as she turned her hand slightly back and forth. Then she found her target, grabbed, and pulled her fist, once, twice, three times. The prisoner screamed and fell off of Mark, who jumped on top of him, put his good knee into the prisoner’s bloody shoulder.

“Reed!” Joncière yelled at her. She was still struggling to breathe.

She released her fist, pulled the epipen to her hand with telekinesis, ripped the lid off with her teeth, set the highest dose, and stabbed it into her leg pushing the button. Then her hand fell to the ground, her breathing quieted, her body went limp, her eyes closed.

“No,” Kay tried to pull away from Martin to get to her, Hector grabbed Kay’s other arm.

“Easy, now. Give her a moment.” Martin said. “And look behind us.”

Kay looked and saw that the medical and disinfectant teams were suiting up in hazmat suits and preparing a disinfecting station. Kay looked back to where his partner, his girlfriend, the love of his life, who laid on the ground looking totally lifeless. He couldn’t even tell if she was breathing.

Mark was still dealing with the prisoner who wouldn’t stop struggling with him. “Damnit, Reed, don’t you…” he dragged the prisoner with him, moving closer to Lou. “Fucking die on me!” he managed to kick Lou’s foot.

Lou took a sudden, sharp breath, and started gasping. Then she started coughing uncontrollably, rolled onto her side, and coughed even harder. As suddenly as it started, it stopped, and Lou rolled over onto her back again. She was still breathing heavily, but it was no longer so desperately.

Kay finally relaxed, but Hector and Martin did not release their hold on him.

“Reed!” Joncière yelled at her. “Make yourself useful, will you?!”

Lou slowly reached out with her hand, once again tried to find the object in the prisoner, it didn’t take her long. The prisoner screamed when she found and twisted it. Mark released him, came over to Lou and helped her sit up.

“Mark,” Lou said, still needed to take big breaths. “I am… never… coming… to… the… Perimeter with you… again.”

Mark chuckled. “You are going to make take Stone next time?”

Lou shook her head. “Get your own empath,” she said, then pointed at Kay. “That one’s mine.”

Kay felt a swelling of happy emotions at her declaration.

Mark chuckled again. “Possessive, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” Lou said. “I am.”

“Alright,” Mark said standing up. “On your feet, Initiate.”

Mark helped Lou to her feet and she lost some he of her grip on the prisoner, so she had to grasp the object again.

“Dirty whore!” The prisoner yelled.

“Hmm,” Lou looked thoughtful. “Nope, still didn’t bother me.”

“He should be more concerned about it bothering someone else,” Mark jerked his head towards Kay.

Lou looked over at her partner being held by both the Prior and his head of security. She looked between the three men slowly.

“You look like hell,” she told Kay.

All the tension in Kay’s body released at once and he laughed, but he wanted to cry from relief. “Should I get you a mirror?”

“Ugh, please don’t,” Lou said, wrinkling up her face.

Kay smiled. Feeling even more relaxed when he saw the medical and disinfection teams headed out to the trio.

Mark and Lou both insisted that the prisoner be disinfected first, so that is what happened. The nurse gave Lou an injection that would counteract the deadly pollen she’d breathed in and stop her from going into anaphylactic shock again. After the prisoner was disinfected, stripped, put into clean clothes, he was restrained and led away by two of Hector’s men, the local commander, and his men.

While they waited to be disinfected, the healers healed both Mark’s and Lou’s wounds. Mark had a bad gash on his leg and some minor cuts and bruises. Lou had a gunshot wound on her lower back and a long cut down her left arm, not to mention the bleeding from her eyes from overtaxing herself earlier. Once the disinfection tent was free Mark insisted that Lou go next. Inside disinfection tent, Lou was stripped of her clothes and given a plain white shirt, khaki pants, that she was pretty sure were men’s, and no shoes. She didn’t care so long as she was out of danger. As she was being disinfected The Prior’s nurse came to talk to her.

“Mademoiselle Reed,” the nurse asked quietly. “It seemed like that young man out there is very close to you.”

“Yeah,” Lou didn’t understand why that might be important to the nurse.

“I don’t mean to pry, but if you engage in any sexual activities with him or anyone else, they will need a shot to protect them too.”

Lou’s brain was no longer working very well. “Why?”

“If the pollen got into your bloodstream, which it no doubt did, you could spread it to unprotected person through any bodily fluids,” the nurse explained.

“Yeah, okay,” Lou nodded. “Go ask him, I’m sure he’ll agree to it.”

“Again sorry to seem insensitive but he’s the only one?”

Lou just glared.

“Ok,” the nurse said. “You’ll both need to come see me in two weeks for a booster shot as well,” she put a card on the clothes that were laid out for her.

“Alright,” Lou said.

Then the nurse left to find Kay, she didn’t have to go far. Lou could just barely hear their voices. Then Lou was free to go.

As she stepped out of the tent she immediately found herself wrapped in an embrace, safe and familiar.

“Kay,” she whispered, burying her face into his shoulder.

“I was so worried,” he said, hugging her tighter.

“I know,” she breathed in deeply, enjoying his sent.

Kay picked her up and started walking back towards the Inquisition’s house.

“What are you doing?” She asked surprised.

“I have orders to take care of you,” he told her.

“But what about the Prior?” She asked.

“Hector and his guys have it under control,” Kay turned around to show her.

Sure enough Baretti and his men were keeping a tight circle around Martin.

“The only person I need to worry about right now, is you,” Kay said, smiling down at her, as they neared the house.

Lou sighed and relaxed in his arms. Once in the house the first place he took her was into the kitchen. The local woman who took care of the house and cooked for all the Church’s employees was there. She was happy that Lou was okay and she gave Lou and Kay bowls of vegetable soup. Lou was on her second bowl when Mark Joncière came in, wearing a clean uniform. He sat down and started eating a bowl of soup too.

Lou stopped eating to watch him, Kay watched Lou.

“Mark, are you alright?” She asked Joncière.

The Inquisitor looked up at her.

“I’m fine, Reed,” a slight smile touched his lips.

Lou continued to stared at him.

Mark sighed softly. “Occupational hazard, Reed.”

“What?” She asked.

“All of this,” he waved his hand around in a circle. “Assassination attempts, bullet wounds, near death experiences. It’s all just an occupational hazard.”

Lou was quiet for a bit. Under the table Kay felt her find his hand and hold it tightly. Reading her, he could tell that she was seeking comfort, but was also confused.

“The Prior wants to head back to New Paris as soon as possible,” Mark told the Psionics. “That being said, that is probably still two hours away.”

“Understood,” Kay said.

“You should get some sleep while you can, Reed,” Mark said, then he looked at Kay. “And you should put yourself back together, Stone, you’re a mess.”

Kay just looked at Mark, Lou interjected.

“Why do you look like you just rolled out of bed ten minutes ago?” Lou asked, looking at Kay’s disheveled appearance.

“Because I did,” Kay looked at her with a considerably kinder look than the one he just gave Joncière. “I was asleep until about 20 minutes before you walked out of the woods.”

Lou stared at him. “Oh, I see.”

“The Prior sedated me,” Kay said calmly.

Lou and Mark both stared at him in disbelief. “He did what?” Lou asked, eyes wide.

A smirk appeared on Kay’s face. “With my permission.”

“Oh,” Lou sighed. “Ok.”

Lou looked at Kay, as if she suddenly understood something, but said nothing. Then she yawned and rubbed her eyes.

“You should take her to bed, Stone,” Mark said.

Lou nearly snorted with laughed, her exhaustion taking its toll on her. “More relationship advice, Mark?”

Joncière didn’t raise to the bait. “Go to bed, Reed.”

While Lou continued to laugh, Kay helped her up. “Come on,” he said gently.

Kay led Lou upstairs to their room. Once inside he took off his suit jacket, took Lou to the bed, and tried to get her to lie down. That’s when he felt her emotions shift. No longer amused by Joncière’s wording, now she was upset, scared, and worried.

“Hey, now,” he said hugging her. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t want to,” she said, she sounded so young and vulnerable.

“Don’t want to what, Lou?” He pulled away enough to put his hands on her face so he could get a good look at her.

“I don’t want to go to bed,” she said shaking her head in his hands. “Not without you.”

“You have me,” he kissed her forehead. “I’m right here, I’m not going anywhere.”

She almost immediately became weak in his arms, he eased her into bed, and then he crawled in with her. He held tightly against himself, stroking her hair, and whispering in her ear.

“I’m here, you’re safe. I’m right here with you.” He said those words over and over as she fell asleep. Kay didn’t sleep, but the two hours still passed quickly for him. Having Lou back, safe in his arms, sleeping peacefully on his shoulder was his own personal bliss. In no time at all there was a soft knock on the door, Kay had to carefully untangle himself from Lou in order to answer it. It was one of Hector’s men, Follower Beaumont.

“Excuse me, Monsieur,” he addressed Kay with respect. “But the Prior wishes to leave in about 20 minutes.”

“Thank you, Beaumont,” Kay said.

The soldier nodded and started to walk away, but turned back before Kay had shut the door all the way.

“And, Stone.”

Kay looked at him.

“You did good today,” Beaumont said. “Baretti thought you had lost your mind for a bit there, but we all still trusted you.”

“Thank you,” Kay smiled.

The man nodded and left; Kay went back into the room.

He knelt down beside the bed and stared trying to wake Lou up, as gently as possible. He kissed her face, whispered her name, ran his fingers through her hair.

Lou stirred slightly.

“Come on, sunshine,” he whispered. “Time to wake up.”

She groaned. “Five more minutes.”

Kay chuckled. “I know you don’t want to get up, but we are going to go home.”

Lou opened her eyes, looked at him, reached out to touch his face, and smiled.

“Home?” she whispered.

“Yes, home,” he stroked her hair. “And then you can sleep in our bed.”

She chuckled softly. “Your bed.”

Kay shook his head. “Our bed.”

Lou looked deep into his eyes that looked calmly back at her.

“Our bed,” she said a smile on her face, then she pulled him to her chest and hugged him tightly.

“Our bed,” he repeated softly in her ear.

Joncière and Martin were just finishing up with the local commander and giving orders to Hector Baretti. Hector was going to ride in the helicopter with the main security team and the prisoner. Kay and Lou sat alone in The Prior’s helicopter waiting to leave.

Lou was leaning against Kay, holding his right hand with her left, fingers laced together. She was surprisingly devoid of emotions. Kay could feel that she was tired and wanted to leave, but that was it.

“Are you doing alright?” Kay asked.

Lou nodded. “I just wanna go home.”

Kay leaned his head against hers. “Yours? Or ours?”

Lou gave a weak chuckle. “Ours.”

Kay kissed her head. “Anything you want.”

Lou sighed. And just for a brief moment Kay could feel how truly happy she was to be there with him; he squeezed her hand.

Just then the two healers came into the helicopter, the man had a bit of a limp from healing Joncière, the woman sat down carefully as to not hurt the wound on her back that she’d healed Lou of. The group of Psionics sat quietly for a moment; Lou watched the woman. She was a petite, thin woman with short black hair, and attentive, bright blue eyes.

“I never caught your names,” Lou said.

The woman gave her a brief smile. “Clair Le Roux.”

Lou let go of Kay in order to shake hands, “Lou Reed.”

“Tuck Burlington,” the man said, then he looked at Kay.

“My partner,” Lou said. “Kay Stone.”

Clair reached out for Kay’s hand, Kay smiled and shook her hand. Tuck reached for Kay’s hand too.

“So, are you two alright?” Lou asked, looking at Clair.

The healers looked at Lou for a moment before Clair answered.

“We’re fine, thank you for asking,” she gave Lou a slight smile. “You must care about a healer.”

Lou wrinkled up her nose. “Why?”

Tuck spoke: “People may be thankful for our healing, but most people don’t ask if we’re okay.”

Lou smiled softly. “Well, I’m not most people.”

Kay chuckled. “I can attest to that.”

The woman looked down at Lou and Kay’s hands. Lou’s left hand was laced together with Kay’s right, and her right hand absently touched the Ψ on his wrist.

“You two are more than just work partners, aren’t you?” Clair asked.

Lou smiled. “I guess we’re pretty obvious.”

Tuck spoke again: “Well, just like most people don’t ask healers if they are okay, not too many people like to touch empaths, especially so… continuously, if at all.”

Kay felt Lou’s annoyance, not at the healer, but at the truth of what he said. “Yeah, well, most people are stupid,” she said, resting her head on Kay’s shoulder, looking down at his tattoo.

Three sets eyes watch her slowly trace the letter Ψ with such care. Then a drop fell onto Kay’s wrist, Lou stared at it like she had no idea where it could have come from. Then another fell, and Lou felt the wetness on her face. She looked up at Kay, confused.

“It’s just fatigue,” he told her, as he brushed the tears off her face with the back of his hand. “Did you get any sleep last night?”

“An hour or two maybe,” she said.

“You’ve been through a lot and haven’t had much sleep,” Kay reassured her. “You just need rest.”

Lou sighed and rested her head back on his shoulder. Clair headed her a cloth to wipe her eyes, Lou thanked her, and then closed her eyes. She was asleep almost immediately.

“How long have you two known each other?” Clair asked.

“Since early spring,” Kay said.

Clair looked surprised. “Is that all? I would have guessed that you’ve known each other most of your lives based on how you are together.”

Kay smiled. “I guess we just understand each other well.”

“You mean she understands you well,” Tuck said.

Kay looked at him.

“It’s obvious why you understand her,” Tuck explained. “But she must really understand you for you two to have bonded so quickly.”

Kay smiled. “She is something special, for sure.”

They fell silent after that and a few minutes later Ivo Martin and Mark Joncière got into the helicopter. Kay tried to straighten up and untangle himself from Lou, but Martin held his hand up.

“You’re fine, Kay,” The Prior said. “Don’t disturb her.”

Kay relaxed, Lou snuggled closer to him. They all buckled in and put headphones on as the engine of the helicopter turned on. A few minutes later the helicopters took off.

“Did she sleep earlier, Stone?” Joncière asked.

“She did, yes,” Kay told him.

“That’s good,” the Inquisitor said. “She barely slept last night.”

Mark looked at the sleeping Lou for a moment before speaking again.

“You know,” he said. “Never in my career have I ever been happier to be wrong about a person.”

“She was helpful then?” Martin asked, clearly already knowing the answer.

“She was brilliant, Ivo,” Mark said, seriously. “You know how she got the bullet hole in her back?”

Martin shook his head, Kay listened intently.

“She pushed me out of the way when we were being shot at,” Mark told them.

“That’s her job, Mark,” Martin said.

“Of course, I understand that,” Mark nodded. “You told her to protect me and she did. That’s not my point, Ivo. My point is that she did it without thinking, she just reacted. It was pure instinct. I truly believe that she would have done the same thing even if you hadn’t told her to protect me.”

Martin smiled, very slightly.

“She saved my life. Twice.” Mark said, then he grimaced. “She’ll never let me forget it.”

Kay couldn’t help but chuckle, Martin did too, then Joncière smiled just at the very corners of his mouth.

The rest of flight was quiet, upon landing Kay tried to wake Lou gently, without success.

“You know, Stone,” Mark said. “For a man who can kill without thinking you are too soft.”

If The Prior of the Inquisition hadn’t been right there Kay may have said something he’d regret, as it was, The Prior was there and it was hard enough for Kay not to stare darkly at Joncière.

“What I mean is that she isn’t made of glass,” Mark told him, then he kicked Lou’s foot. “Reed!”

Lou jumped awake, looked at Mark, and groaned. “Fuck, I’ve died and gone to hell.”

“Are you assuming I’d go to hell too, Reed?” Joncière asked, mildly amused.

“You’d always be in my personal hell, Mark,” she glared at him.

The Inquisitor chuckled. “Welcome home, Reed.” Then he stepped off the helicopter.

Martin stood next, he turned to the group of Psionics. “You have all done good work today. You can all expect bonuses. Mademoiselle Le Roux, Monsieur Burlington, you are free to go, take the next two days off, rest. Monsieur Stone, Mademoiselle Reed, we need to debrief, Hector and his men will escort me in. I want you in my office in 30 minutes.”

After their gratitude and acknowledgment The Prior got off the helicopter.