The Winged Dare [COMPLETED]

Chapter Ten

February Fifth, 2014

7:00 AM

It was warm. Too warm. Laura opened her eyes. She glanced at the alarm clock, finding it extremely difficult to believe that she had actually slept through the whole night without being called in for a body. 

Caleb's arm was hooked around her waist, his hand resting gently on her stomach. Even though she was unbelievably warm, she smiled. His hand was hot on her bare skin. She knew he wasn't doing it on purpose, but it still burned. She attempted to slide out from under him, but his arm only tightened around her, his hand sliding under her side to hold her even closer. 

Now, the burning was at her side rather than her stomach. She bit down on her bottom lip until she tasted her own blood. "Caleb, come on," she whispered. 

He groaned. "What?" he asked. 

"You're doing it again."

In an instant, he was no longer touching her. "I'm so sorry," he whispered. 

"It's not your fault." She turned onto her other side so that she was facing him. "How're you feeling?" she asked. 

He shrugged. "Fine, I think. Sore, cold... But okay."

"It's really weird that you could be cold right now," she said. She shook her head, sliding a hand under her pillow. "You're basically radiating heat," she added. 

"I know. But I don't know why," he said. 

"I think the water ordeal really messed with your body's sense of equilibrium," Laura said. With a frown, she pressed her hand to his forehead, then to his cheek. "I don't think you should go to work," she said softly. 

Caleb shook his head, pulling away from her touch. "I'll take a cold shower. It'll fix the temperature bullshït," he said. 

"And if it doesn't?" she asked as he climbed out of bed. She sat up, clutching the blanket at her chest. "Caleb."

"Then I'll stay home, okay?" he asked. He pressed the heels of both hands to his forehead. 

"You're not okay."

"I'm fine," he growled. He dropped his hands and looked at his wife. "Just drop it, okay? I'm either okay, or I'm dead." He held his arms out to the side. "And guess what! I'm very well and alive. So leave it the fück alone, Laura."

She swallowed. "Okay," she whispered.

Caleb sighed and closed his eyes. "Dammit. Now I'm the bad guy," he said quietly. His eyes opened. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get so pissy. I shouldn't have raised my voice, and I shouldn't--"

"It doesn't matter," Laura said. She climbed out of bed and pulled on her robe. "I'm going to go ahead and take a shower," she said as she grabbed a shirt and a pair of jeans. "Wake up Kaylee. Get her some breakfast. I'll take her to school after I'm clean and dressed." She pushed a tired hand through her hair. She shook her head. "I'll see you at work, Caleb."

11:24 AM

"You seriously still haven't found her?" Caleb asked.

"No. I've called her. But her phone's off. I've had it tracked, but again, it's off. I can't track anything if it's not on," Lucas said. 

Caleb groaned and pushed his fingers into his hair. "This is all my fault. I got mad at her this morning. I upset her. She's avoiding me," he said. 

"She's a woman. She's emotional, hormonal, and over dramatic. She'll get over it," Lucas said. 

"Hey," Caleb ground out. "That's pretty stereotypical of you, ässhat," he said. 

Lucas shrugged. "Then find her and prove me wrong. Prove that she's not off being emotional," he said. "Find her and prove that she's doing something worthwhile, something not dramatic. Then -- and only then -- can we talk about how stereotypical I am," he said. 

1:00 PM

"I found 'er. I'm goin' ta try ta talk ta 'er, get 'er back ta the station," Clawd said. 

"Great. I'll tell Lucas," Heath said. 

Clawd ended the call and shoved his phone back into his pocket. "Lookin' a lil' lonely ov'r here, Detective," he said softly, his steps slow as he approached her. 

"Not lonely. Just thinking," Laura said quietly. 

He walked to the end of the metal dock and sat down next to her. The water was frozen, but her feet still rested on top of the water's surface. "What're ya doin' down here? All by yourself?" he asked. 

"I guess I didn't want to be near everyone at the station," she said. "I have my radio on me. If a body had been found, I would've responded."

"But your phone was off."

"Right. I wanted to be able to communicate if I chose to do so. I didn't want to be tracked," Laura said. 

Clawd sighed. "What happened?" She shrugged. "Wanna talk 'bout it?" he asked. 

"Truly, I'm probably overreacting," she said. 

"I can be the judge a' that?" he offered. 

She smiled faintly. "Caleb was really warm this morning. I mean, the man was like my personal space heater. And when I asked that he stay home, he got mad. He yelled at me, told me to drop it, whatever..." She shook her head. "And then I took a shower so that I didn't have to accept his apology. I'm actually kind of an ässhole, when it comes right down to it," she said. 

"I don't think that makes ya anythin' more than a human bein' -- or whatever ya wanna call it. So you're emotional. So you're hurt that he lashed out at ya. That don't mean you're rude, that you're horrible. It means ya have feelin's. And that's okay," Clawd said. 

She sniffled before turning to face him for the first time. "Thanks, Officer--" She shook her head. "Clawd. Thanks, Clawd." 

He smiled. The use of his first name warmed his heart. It sent a rush of heat to his head and cheeks. His stomach flopped with butterflies. Laura Rainshot had called him by his first name. "No problem, Laura." He stood up and held his hand out to her. Just as he was about to accept rejection, she grabbed his hand and let him pull her to her feet. 

She dusted off her pants and inhaled deeply. "Let's get to work, shall we?" she asked.