Complicated

Chapter Thirteen: In The Hours After

I just wanna be where you are tonight.
I run in the dark looking for some light,
And how will we know if we just don't try,
We won't ever know.

Yellowcard – Light Up The Sky

It was late when Don got into his apartment, he could see the lamp was still on in the bedroom through the tiny gap in the door Grace had left open for him. He was already pulling off his noose of a tie over his head, setting it down on the kitchen table beside his gun and badge. His suit jacket followed, he hung it on the back of one of the kitchen chairs before undoing the cuff-links on the sleeves of his shirt and pushing them up to his elbows.

It had been a long day, from the Crime Scene this morning to interrogating Micheal Elgars before he left the station house. He wanted nothing more than to rinse the scum off his skin and curl up next to Grace. There was too much evil in his world right now and he needed something to counter act it.

Don used the palm of his hand to push open his bedroom door and stopped at the sight before him, a small smile curving across his tired features. Grace was lying amongst the sheets, wearing her white vest top and boy boxers, her long lean legs were stretched out down her side of the bed. In her arms she was cradling his pillow long ways against her body, her cheek pressed into it.

Don had never seen Grace look as innocent as she did right now. His fingertips ran through her dark hair, it was still damp from the shower she must have taken before she had changed. Grace moaned in her sleep as before snuggling even more closely into the pillow. She had left her clothes in a heap on the floor at the foot of his bed, he knew she must have been exhausted after the round of interviews she had faced by the various different agencies.

Don came to sit on his side of the bed, running both hands through his hair in exasperation before casting a glance at Grace's serene sleeping form. His eyes watching the raise and fall of her chest as he listened to the sound of her breathing. He had almost lost her today.

It was the nature of their job, he knew that but he had never had to worry about it until now. He had never dated a cop before, he had never had to be the one that was concerned for someone else. Now he was getting a taste of the fear that his past girlfriends had had when he strapped on his holster and walked out of the door every day.

Don leaned forward, rubbing his painful gritty eyes with the palm of his hands. It would be unfair to ask her to quit her job. The job was Grace's life as much as it was his. She had worked for years to build a reputation for herself and to force her to choose between himself and that was cruel. He didn't know if he could do this, get so close to someone only to have them snatched away again.

It had been like a punch in the chest when he'd seen her at that crime scene today, despite the fact she'd escaped with minor injuries it had still rattled him. Deep down in his core he was scared and Don Flack had never felt this brand of fear before. It was wild and impulsive, his control was not something he was used to losing but he wasn't ready to give up the only thing in his life that made the job worth fighting for.

"I'm scared Gracie." he whispered, twisting around and letting the tip of his finger trail up and down the discolouration marring her thigh.

She was still right here underneath his hands, she was banged up and bruised but otherwise she was ok, and he knew he had to keep that in focus. He could go crazy thinking about all the things that could happen to her in their line of work. He had known from the very beginning that falling love was about taking responsibility for someone else and it was time for him to man up and finally do that.

Don leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to the apple of her cheek before lying down on the opposite side of the pillow from her. Their faces were barely inches apart. She looked so peaceful and he would give anything to see that expression on her features every God damned night.

He was still clad in his shirt and suit pants but that didn't matter to him. He just needed to feel close to her right now, to absorb some of the good in his life and outweigh all the evil that he seemed to spend all of his time fighting against. His fingers laced through hers as he settled on the pillow. Grace shifted at his touch, her eyes fluttering open until he was staring directly into that beautiful grey gaze.

"I tried to wait up." she said her voice still thick with sleep.

"I know." he uttered, his fingertips brushing the silky stray strands of hair out of her eyes.

"Did we catch the bad guy?" she mumbled, catching his hand and bringing it to her mouth so her soft lips could kiss the back of it.

"Not yet." he whispered, his forehead coming to rest against hers as she closed her eyes again. "They'll plenty of time for that tomorrow."

He cupped her cheek, his thumb caressing over her delicate cheekbones before tracing over the outline of her lips.

"I love you Grace." he murmured into the darkness.

"Love you too Don." she whispered back.