Playing With Fire (EDITING)

Enduring the Aftermath

I sat chained again to the pole in the dank cell. The testing and torture had been brutal for the day but I'd fought harder than before and had to pay the price. Several other scenes from the week replayed themselves for me before I jerked awake. When my eyes flew open, I jerked bodily and took a deep breath of the clean air. The room was dark but comfortingly so; whimpering on the other end of the room told me that Kitty was experiencing the nightmares as well.

Behind me, Doug shifted, rolling onto his side and resting a light hand on my shoulder. I pretended to still be asleep, not wanting to hear words of supposed comfort. Right now, nothing would help but time.

Rustling and slight pressure on my shoulder said that Doug was propping himself on one elbow and I knew what was coming. Sure enough, he leaned over, whispering quietly in my ear, "Don't blame yourself for what happened. None of it was your fault and there was nothing that could have been done to change anything. None of us blame you for what happened. Let it go, alright."

When he'd finished, he laid down again with his hand remaining on my shoulder, but I could tell he wasn't sleeping; his breathing was too short and uneven for a sleeping person's. As I tried making sense of what he'd said, I realized that it was exactly what I'd needed to hear. But he was wrong; if I hadn't gone storming out of HQ, then Megan and Kitty wouldn't' have come looking for me and I would've taken the long way back. No dark alleys, no friends getting kidnapped. When I finally drifted off again, the nightmares never came and I was given a reprieve.

When I woke again, sunlight streamed through the windows and glinted off the polished flooring. Doug's warm breath tickled the back of my neck and his arm rested on my waist. I was about to stand or move away when a thought passed my mind. Maybe he wasn't staying close for my sake; maybe he was the one that needed someone to lean on. So I stayed.

It was another half hour before anyone else woke up. Kurt shifted on the table and sat up, yawning so widely, I heard his jaw pop. When he gazed around the room, his eyes fell on me and Doug and he caught my eye. Already, food and sleep had done wonders for him but when he winked at me, I knew he was feeling a ton better. "Not a word," I whispered when he stood and grabbed an orange.

He grinned mischievously and sat crosslegged in front of me. "Can't promise that, Sparky."

"Kurt, I'm serious. Kitty and Megan will find out on their own eventually but I don't want my uncle getting on my case about anything else. Hearing about something like this might send him over the edge."

"Hm, could've sworn you were dying for a reason to push him off a cliff the other day. What's changed?"

"I just don't want him being all protective. He's acting like he's my dad and its driving me insane."

Kurt swallowed and handed me half the orange before replying. "Maybe he feels guilty you grew up without him?"

"Highly doubt it," I scoffed. When Megan rolled over and muttered something, I lowered my voice. "He didn't know I was alive for the longest time and was just fine."

"Exactly, he's scared to lose you again," he pointed out simply, popping another segment of the fruit into his mouth and chewing.

I peeled the orange into segments thoughtfully. "Maybe. But he's a hardened assassin. What does he care what happens to me?"

"He's still family."

I fell silent, knowing somehow that Kurt was right. I couldn't say anything more but I didn't have to. Behind me, Doug tensed. The muscles in his arm stiffened on my waist and his breathing became erratic. His fingers curled and uncurled as if he were wrapping them around someone's throat.