Though the Monsters

Chapter 23

Quick A/N. This gets pretty heated, just a heads up. Enjoy:)

One Night

            Hoppo was right when he said that Hadlee wouldn't sleep long, though Jethro was still surprised when he heard his girlfriend begin to shuffle around not even fifteen minutes after she had fallen asleep. Glick had offered to take his position on the beach until Jethro was sure that Hadlee was resting and recovering. Hadlee shuffled up to the second level of the tower and flopped into one of the desk chairs and rolled up to the desk. Jethro looked at Hadlee as she pulled her legs up against her chest and rested her chin on her knees.

"How you feelin'? Jethro asked.

Hadlee shrugged.

"Fine, I'll be okay in a bit. I haven't had a photosensitive seizure in a long time. I should bounce back in about a half hour or so. I thought you were stationed on the beach." Hadlee said.

"I was," Jethro said nodding. "But Glick switched with me so that I could be here with you. I'll head back out in a little while once you're feeling better."

Hadlee gave a small, weak smile.

"You shouldn't worry so much. Never stop your life just to be checking in on mine, especially not when it comes to work." Hadlee said.

"You're my girlfriend and I care about you. Seizures or not, I will always worry. Besides, the more time that I get to spend with you, the happier I will be. Grumpy Jethro is not somebody that the guys like to work with." Jethro reasoned.

Hadlee laughed a little bit. Jethro smiled; it wasn't much but to him it meant that she was feeling better. Though seizures were apart of Hadlee's life, Jethro now understood how much Harrison went through. The constant worry that tended to loom in the back of one's mind was almost as daunting as handling a seizure itself. It felt like the world's most effective mental and emotional terrorism, the threat just as powerful if not more so than the actual event. Jethro picked up the binos again and scanned the water. With it being the beginning of Summer there were definitely not a shortage of rescues or first aides to occupy the lifeguards' time. It was the busy season but nobody could lie about it not being the most interesting and, honestly, the most fun.

~~~~~~~

Jethro stared at the clock as the seconds ticked by. Clock out time could not come soon enough in his opinion. Hadlee had gone down to the tunnel about thirty minutes ago to finish off her work and Jethro had remained on tower duty. Mouse looked over at Jethro's bouncing knee and chuckled.

"You're a little tense their Jeth." He said.

"Huh," Jethro hummed looking do Mouse. "Sorry, did you say something?"

Mouse laughed again.

"I just said that you're a little tense. What's gotten into you mate?" He said.

"Oh um, nothing. I'm fine." Jethro said.

"You are such a liar," Nicola called from the medical bay. "He's waiting for clock out time so he and Hadlee can go home."

"Come on Nic." Jethro groaned.

Mouse cocked his eyebrow, a smile wide across his face.

"Are you telling me that you and Hadlee haven't-"

"No, we haven't. Not that it's any of your business." Jethro cut Mouse off.

Mouse couldn't help but laugh again.