Dreams Do Come True

Chapter Five

You hadn't realized you were home until your door opened and you jerked in surprise. "Shit, sorry babe. You okay?" You hummed softly as you undid your seatbelt and climbed out of the car with the blanket wrapped around you. Immediately Gavin's arm came around the small of your back and guided you up to the house.

"Would you like a cup of tea Y/N? I've heard herbal teas are beneficial in calming ones nerves." Nines asked as he followed up behind you and Gavin, hands behind his back. You only shook your head, "I think I just want to go to sleep." You muttered and felt Gavin's hand rub your back in comfort.

The small home that you and Gavin shared was always warm and welcoming. Unlike bare yet always messy apartment Gavin had prior to you coming on the scene. There were artwork on the wall, photos in frames displayed on different types of shelving, alongside little ornaments that you and Gavin collected over time. Mostly things you found cute whenever you would visit a market or something. Occasionally something on display would be from Gavin; "I saw this and thought you might like it." Had been his way of telling you he's thinking of you and taking an interest in what you like. And because he wanted to spoil you with something you'd like personally rather than just the average gift of jewelry.

Gavin took you down the hall while Nines stayed in the living room, waiting Gavin's return. "How are you feeling?" Gavin murmured as he shut the bedroom door and walking around you to pull back the blankets of the bed on your side. You merely raised your shoulders in a small shrug.
Today had escalated drastically for you; physically, mentally and emotionally. You climbed into the bed, still wrapped in the blanket from the car as additional comfort. You snuggled down with the blanket being tugged right up around your chin by Gavin. He had no idea what the fuck to do but he could only hope this would work.

His hand came down to rest on the curve of where your hip was hidden beneath the blanket as he crouched down on his quarters. His other arm resting above your head as his fingers gently caressed your hair from your forehead. "What the hell happened to you today, Y/N/N?"
"I don't know... stress, I guess."
"I've seen you stressed, babe. This isn't that. There's something more. Something you're not telling me. What is it?" Damn him and his Detective skills, able to pinpoint when someone wasn't telling the truth. You licked your lips in nervousness as you stared at his grey orbs.
"Can I ask you something Gavin?"
"Yeah. 'Course."
"Do I...Do I, um... Do I..." your voice wavered as you stammered your words, the remaining question was whispered because you were barely holding on now, "disgust you? Make you ashamed to be with me?" His fingers stopped their ministrations, his face twisting into a mix of disbelief and anger. "What the fuck Y/N?! No! Where the hell did this all come from?"

Just like that, the gates to the dam opened and the tears fell uncontrollably from your eyes, your own features twisting into so much hurt that it tugged painfully at Gavin's heartstrings, already filling with anger and who caused you to be so distraught. A sob broke out and you turned your face into the pillow, away from his gaze as your body violently trembled beneath each sob that tore out.

"Shit. Hey, hey, hey...S'alright. It's alright." Gavin quickly moved to sit in the small space on the edge of the bed. Everything that had built up for weeks, only for the phone call from your mother to finally be that tipping point for you came bursting out. You felt one hand grip whatever part of you he could reach, and the other caressing the material of the blanket that was covering your body.
"I've got you, babe. I got you. You're alright. 'M right here." Soft words were murmured as he continued to caress your back in comfort but his efforts hadn't even managed to calm you down at all.
"Babe, can you look at me?"
"No...." you wailed into the pillow, curling further in on yourself. Quietly adding an "I can't!" between sobs. Your cries were really getting to Gavin and he had to find the strength not to explode in anger and hunt down whoever it was that hurt you like this. "'M right here Y/N. I'm not going anywhere. Talk to me." Gavin's voice rose a little to be heard over the volume of your cries but still, somehow, remained a gentle tone about it. He barely managed to catch it but he heard it loud and clear, "I'm a disappointment." "Who said that?"
"Everyone! My boss! Customers! My own M-Mom!"

Gavin was well aware what your mother was like. What your family was like. They expected too much from you and had you at high standards that were impossible for you to achieve. Not everyone was built to become a surgeon or a firefighter, or even a Detective. At first, he tried to reason with himself that they just wanted the best for you but it was clear that they bullied you – and he swore that sometimes they would do it for fun. He lost all respect for your family and wanted to shield you away from them as best as he could without it falling into the 'possessive/alienating' category of being in a relationship. It was part of the reason he asked you to move in with him. Give you an offer of a new life. Hopefully ceasing as much contact with the toxicity of your family.

"God-fucking-damnit!" The curse fell past his lips before he could even catch it, startling you and causing you to curl into a tight ball – how that was even possible, he had no idea. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry for everything!"
"Fuck. No. I... No, I'm not mad at you... Fuck, babe... I, uh..." His hand hovered midair, debating whether continuing to offer you comfort was the right course of action. He had sent you into such a pleading state with his verbal outburst, he didn't want to be the one to add to that.

"I'm not worth it. Any of it. You deserve better than me." Without thinking, his hand came down and rested firmly on your shoulder. Sliding off the bed, he resumed his position of crouching down to peer at you since you were curled into a tight fetal position. "No." he firmly stated. "You are worth everything to me, Y/N. Everything. Don't you dare think you're not." He dropped his head, muttering under his breath, "I'm going to fucking kill that woman."

It was no use. Whatever Gavin said to you, you only cried through his words. You hadn't meant to be so rude but you couldn't calm down. This was years and years of your Mother's verbal abuse coming out. The more you cried, the more Gavin swore bloody murder. It was hard; he wasn't the type of guy who knew the right things to say. He was far from the 'ideal perfect boyfriend' that women seem to desire. But he was doing all he could, and all that he knew how.

That also includes staying with you until you fell asleep. Your body stopped trembling but his hand never ceased those comforting motions against your frame. Gentle hushing every now and then emitted past those lips that were known to swear like a sailor and argue with anything that moves. Gavin had since resumed his original position; crouched by the bedside, one hand caressing the hair back from your now tear-stained face, the other rubbing circular motions in comfort – which had now ceased to where his thumb was just gentle caressing while his hand remained firmly against the curve of your hip.

He waited until you were asleep before he left, gently tugging the blankets around you, his gaze lingering on your sleeping form – features now relaxed and set into a peaceful slumber as if you didn't just suffer a massive breakdown. The moment he turned from you, however, there was a murderous rage in those stormy grey orbs of his.

Quietly shutting the door behind him, he walked out to Nines who was holding a framed photo of the three of them. This was definitely your doing. Gavin would never place photos up, particularly personal ones. But you insisted, and you really adored the one of you three. It was just a dumb selfie at the beach with your faces squished together in order to fit in the frame. It was silly, and one of the very rare times that Nines stepped out of his level of comfort from his professional appearance to just be 'normal'.

His LED was circling the soft amber glow, occasionally red would flicker through. He was quite concerned about you. Particularly when he heard the heartbroken wails filter through the shut door. Audio components picking up some of the conversation as he eavesdropped a little, however, he decided that this was one of those times where you could not be comforted. A shame that you weren't under hospital care, they could have given you a sedation to avoid the mess of emotions.
Perhaps with the decent night sleep, you could wake up feeling more refreshed and a stronger state of mind to begin the day's problems. Which is what he hoped would work for you now.

Hearing the door click shut, he placed the photo back on the shelf and waited for Gavin to reappear. "How is Y/N?" Gavin didn't even look at Nines as he pulled out his phone from his pocket and thumb began scrolling through the screen of contacts. "Cried herself to sleep. Fuck all I could do for her."
"Surprisingly her cortisol levels are back to a regular state but there's been a significant drop in her serotonin levels." Nines reported as he followed Gavin into the kitchen.

Glancing up from his phone in annoyance, wanting to just get the person he was looking for on the phone and rip into them. "What?! English, Nines."
"I was speaking English, Detective. To put it simply, her stress levels are back to normal but she's taken quite the plunge with her happiness."
"Yeah, no shit Sherlock. You seen the state she's in? She's far from happy. She's hurtin' Nines. And there's fuck all I can do for her. And this wouldn't have happened if her fucking mother kept her goddamn mouth shut."
"I'm afraid I'm not following."
"I couldn't get much out of her but..." Gavin went on to explain just the real level of nastiness your Mother can be. And whenever there's a family get-together, they all put their two-cents worth it. And not in a supportive manner either. They were jabs, accusations, insults, remarks... playground bullying that was clearly taking it's toll on you.
"...Which is why I asked her to move in with me. To get her away from all this bullshit as much as I can."
"I see."
"Enough's enough. This ends now." Phone gripped in his fist, pointer finger came out and jabbed at the air towards the ground, emphasis his words before he extended his arm out and pointed towards the door of where you were sleeping, "Because the next time this happens, I don't want to get a phone call saying Y/N's topped herself."

Nines would have interjected, maybe offered for Gavin to calm down while making an irrational phone call but from what he had just been informed with regarding your family, well... they had this coming. Nines was standing by for... moral support. And to also make sure Gavin doesn't say something stupid that could jeopardize your relationship with him or his job as an officer of the law. Finally hitting the green call button on his phone, Gavin waited for your Mother to pick up. When the line connected, he offered no greeting and go straight to the point,

"What did you say to her?!"
"Nothing that any other Mother wouldn't give advice to their child."
"You call that advice!? Do you have any idea what you've fucking done!?"
"I gave her a reality check, Mr. Reed. Get her to pull her head in and do something good with her life."
"No. You gave her a hospital check. You've fucked her up."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me, lady. Every time I manage to bring her to where she can finally see her own worth, you bring her right back to the fucking ground again. And this time she landed in the fucking hospital!" Gavin's finger never ceased the jabbing in midair with every point he made.
If only the Mother could see how close Gavin was to losing his shit, perhaps she'd actually shut up and listen to him.
"That's at no-one's fault but her own."
"No, that's at your own fucking fault. If you were a decent mother and supported her -"
"Y/N has had this fantasy dream since she was a child. It's time she outgrew it and got a proper job."
"Since when is wanting to own to a business a fucking fantasy?! She can do it. She has the smarts to, but you keep fucking her up."

At this point, Nines yanked the phone out of Gavin's clutches when the Detective's began to rise and his anger would be to blame for waking you up, which is something that Nines wanted to avoid. You needed the sleep and listening to Gavin scream down the other line of the phone would only stress you out further. Placing the communications device to ear, a much more calmer tone greeted the line,
"Good evening Mrs Y/L/N. What my colleague is trying to convey is that one Y/N has successfully surpassed her examinations, she has a solid proposal to put forth to the bank and town-council officials. There is a 15% she will be knocked back, but that is a very low percentile so I highly doubt she will become the failure that you are clearly so worried about. I understand that every parent wishes for their child to succeed. Your concern is admirable but the unsolicited advice is not. I suggest that if you cannot be as supportive of her as her own boyfriend and his work colleagues down at the Detroit City Police Department, perhaps it is best if you minimalize your contact with Y/N. I assure you that your daughter has people in her corner to support her, people that you ought to be wary of the next time you break the law. Because the next time you bring Y/N down again, we will bring you down the next time you break the law, regardless of how small it is. Good day Mrs. L/N."

Just as well that Nines took over from the phone call. Had it been Gavin, he would've been screaming down the line with a much worse threat; 'Break Y/N again, and I'll break your fucking face." Gavin's temper can get away from him particularly when it involves you.

Before your mother could get a word in, Nines hung up the phone and looked over at Gavin whose mouth was slightly agape before they turned into a snarl as he took his phone back. "She got off lightly if you ask me."
"Yes, well the alternative is against the law."
"Tch."
"It would be advisable that you also retrieve Y/N's phone in case the mother tries to contact her while she's recovering."
"Fuck. Yeah... Yeah, I'll do that."

Instead of doing as Nines advised, Gavin grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, some pain relief from the top of the fridge and then rummaged around one of the top drawers in the kitchen. Grabbing a marker and a piece of notepad paper, he quickly scribbled something on it before gathering everything and making his way down the hallway to the bedroom.

Quietly opening the door, he made an effort to be quiet with his steps as he set down his phone beside yours so he could unload the rest of his items; placing the bottle of water down, the packet of pain relief tablets in case you awake with a headache or any other aches from today. Lastly, the little note that simply said;
Love You x

Despite the murderous anger that had consumed him earlier, it all melted when he saw you curled up beneath the covers. One of these days he was going to marry you. If you'll have him, that is. He can only hope he'd make a decent husband to you.

Leaning down, lips softly kissed your temple, gaze lingering on you for a moment, flames of fierce protection flickered around Gavin's heart, who was prepared to burn anyone whoever dare hurt you like this.

Grabbing both phones, he left the room and quietly shut the door behind him.