The Soldier and The Spy: Tess Danvers- Episode 4

Chapter 7

Present Day

A soft thumping pulled her from her half sleep, not the warm, steady heartbeat she was used to but instead the distinct sound of a tiny, furred head butting against a door, over and over before being followed with a lonesome meow. She was already sitting up when a hissed whisper came from the hall, shortly followed by another loud meow.

"Mushu! Stop it!"

"It's okay, I'm awake." She called out, chuckling when the thumping resumed, louder and more insistent now the intruder knew she was awake.

At the first crack of the door Mushu darted in, straight onto the bed and into her lap where he flopped down, rolling onto his back for the belly rub that would invariably only last five minutes before he attacked her.

"Sorry."

Tess looked up from giving said belly rub, she had so many scars already it wasn't like she was afraid to get a few more, to see Ling shaking her head in the doorway, which turned into a resigned sigh when Misu strolled between her legs and jumped up beside her brother. "For this?"

Ling laughed and shook her head again, then pointed a firm finger at Mushu. "No. Biting. I'm going to start making breakfast- it should be ready in ten or fifteen minutes but take your time."

She responded with a thumbs up, which was instantly attacked by the dragon cat, who greatly resembled his Disney namesake, not so much in looks but definitely in attitude. He was a cutie, they both were, beautiful Siamese twins but Tess couldn't help the pang of homesickness that hit her, that hadn't really left since she'd first gotten on the plane to come here. They were adorable but they weren't her cats, this wasn't her bed and her Jay wasn't in it with her. She'd thought about inviting him to come along on this visit, it wasn't like she was expecting anything to go wrong and it was only a short one, just three days and today was the last, but in the end she'd decided against it, partly because he had work and she was loath to give Voight or Hailey any more reason to find issue with her sudden involvement in his life but also because... she just wasn't ready for that. Yet. And Jay hadn't been either. It had been obvious he'd wanted to offer to join her but he'd hesitated too, and then with that synchronicity they so often had they'd just looked at each other and smiled, the kiss that followed acting like a silent promise that one day he would come with her.

One day, just not today.

Today she was going home.

Not for a few hours but the excitement was already building, familiar nervous jitters that raced through her like an electrical current; no matter how long she'd been gone or what an op had been like coming home always gave her a certain feeling, and even though she had more than one now Chicago did and always would hold a special place in her heart. Those little butterflies stayed with her as she shooed the cats away and had a quick shower, though they calmed when she ate the omurice Ling had prepared, a delectable mix of the leftover rice and grilled chicken they'd had last night topped with a nice gooey omelet.

"I'm going to miss your cooking."

"Me too."

The two women shared a grin as Tess finished washing the dishes, a chore she still had to fight to do, and took a minute while she dried her hands to look her friend over. She seemed to be doing alright, definitely liking her new apartment, but that didn't mean the transition was easy. It was going to take a while until she really felt settled here, and she doubted she would ever stop missing her home, stop being angry at the forces that had led her to leave it.

Tess was angry about that too.

"I've still got a few hours before I have to be at the airport- is there anything else you need?"