The Investigator

Stay

"Come to bed with me" Ellie whispered as she pecked at his lips once more.

"As much as I really don't want to turn you down. I don't think that's a good idea Sweetheart. I'd feel like I'm taking advantage of you in a vulnerable state" Jason told her.

"I understand" she said softly. "But please Jason, I don't want to be alone right now. No funny business, I promise. Just stay... hold me, make me feel like everything will be okay" she pleaded.

"Of course Ellie. I'll stay" he smiled.

Grabbing his hand she led him through her apartment and to her bedroom.

"I'm just gonna brush my teeth" Ellie said before ducking in to the bathroom.

Jason would be lying if he said he wasn't worried about being in close proximity to Ellie. He only had so much willpower, and he liked her a lot.

Ellie reemerged from the bathroom and crawled onto the bed. "Everything okay?" She asked as she looked at Jason who looked like he wasn't sure what he should do.

"Yeah. I'm good. I'm just gonna..." he trailed off as he pointed to the bathroom.

"There's spare toothbrushes in the top draw if you want one" she replied.

"Thanks" he smiled before disappearing.

A few minutes later he came back out to find Ellie snuggled beneath the covers and he lay down next to her fully clothed, on top of the blankets.

"You can take some clothes off and sleep under the covers you know" Ellie giggled. "I don't bite".

"I wasn't sure what the proper protocol was here" he chuckled. "If I didn't know any better I'd think you were trying to get me naked" he grinned devilishly.

"We have plenty of time for that" she laughed. "Right now I just want to be in your arms" she told him. "I want to feel something other than the pain and sadness in my heart. I want to feel warm, safe and comforted".

"Okay Sweetheart, I can do that" he smiled. Standing up he stripped of his shirt and undid his pants, sliding them down his long slender legs before kicking them off.

"Okay...now how am I supposed to resist you when you look like that" Ellie teased, making him laugh shyly while he rubbed the back of his neck. "C'mon" she smiled as she lifted the covers. Jason slowly climbed in, settling on his side facing Ellie, waiting for her to come to him.

At first she just took his hand in hers and held it while he gently rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand.

"Do you want to talk about today?" He asked. "How you're feeling?"

"I have a lot of mixed emotions. I feel sad that he's gone and I won't ever get the chance to know him. And I'm hurt that he never came looking for me all these years. I'm angry that he left in the first place but I understand why he did it. It just feels kind of stupid having all these strong emotions about a man I never even knew".

"It's not stupid Ellie. It's completely normal. He may not have been a part of your life, but he was still a big part that was missing from your life. It's normal to mourn that. I'm sorry that it turned out this way" Jason told her.

"Its not how I hoped things would go down. But I guess its like they say, everything has a silver lining" she said.

"Oh yeah? What's the silver lining here?"

"You" Ellie smiled. "If my father hadn't been MIA all my life... I never would have met you".

"I guess that's a good trade off... I'm a great catch" he teased with a chuckle.

"You're better than great. You've been here for me like nobody has in a long time. I appreciate that".

"Well once I got to know you, it just came naturally. I was drawn to you from the moment we met" Jason admitted.

"Thank you for being a gentleman and not letting me rush into anything. I like you Jason... I like you a lot. But you're right, we shouldn't rush things, especially with what I've been through today" Ellie told him.

"I'd never want to take advantage. But believe me, it wasn't easy to say no" he chuckled. "I like you a lot too... so let's take things slow okay? One step at a time".

"I like the sound of that" she smiled. "Can I... can I cuddle you?" She asked. "That's not too much?"

"Go ahead Sweetheart" he said as he opened up his arms as he shifted to lay on his back.

Ellie shuffled closer and rest her head on Jason's chest, her fingers playing with the dusting of dark hair there. Her body was pressed closely against his and she could feel the warmth radiating from his skin through her thin pyjamas. Jason wrapped an arm around her back, his finger tips dancing along her upper arm as he held her close.

"I can feel your heartbeat" Ellie whispered.

"Yeah... it's thumping pretty hard" he laughed shyly.

"Sorry"

"Don't be. I like having you close".

"I like being close to you. When you hold me... it's like nothing else in the world matters and I know I'm gonna be okay. I know that you'll keep me safe".

"I always will" he smiled as he kissed the top of her head softly. "Get some rest Ellie, it will do you good and you might feel better in the morning. And if you need anything, I'll be right here".

"Thank you Jason. For everything" Ellie whispered as she pressed a warm kiss to his chest. "Goodnight" she smiled shyly as she snuggled a little closer.

"Night Ellie. Sweet dreams".