STOP! If you haven't read Hourglass you will have no idea what is going on here. That said if you have enjoy the sequel.
Juliet looked up from her desk for perhaps the twentieth time in the last hour at Shawn who was still watching her intently. "What?" Shawn just shrugged his shoulders and went back to his IPhone. Feeling the urge she went to get up to go to the restroom but was halted when Henry materialized out of nowhere.
"Juliet do you need something? Tea? Water? A snack? Whatever it is I can get it for you." Juliet rubbed at her temples which for some reason made Shawn jump in.
"Do you need something for your head? Is it a bad? Cause if it is we can take you to the doctor and get you checked out." And to make matters worse Gus decided it was time to walk into the bullpen.
"Juliet if the headache has been going on for a while it could be pre-eclampsia you definitely need to go to the doctor if it is because if it progresses you can have seizures." She looked at the three men who were standing all around her and felt a bit remorseful for what she was about to do. "Perhaps you should go on medical leave and stay in bed till the baby is born." A tiny bit remorseful.
"STOP!" Every officer in the bullpen froze and looked at her. She stood up as quickly as she could. "I understand you're worried about me but Henry." The older man looked shocked he was being directed some of the anger. "I can get things for myself, in fact, the doctor told me to make sure I get some exercise in. Gus please stop spouting off all the things that can go wrong. You really think I need the added worry?" The man looked sheepish as he shook his head and looked down at his feet. "And Shawn." She smiled at her fiancé and grabbing one of his hands she placed it on her small baby bump. "I love you so very much and I know just how worried you are about me and the baby. But you need to stop before you drive me crazy, all of you." The three men looked like beat puppies. "Now if you don't mind my bladder is currently being used as punching bag and it is awfully full." She dropped Shawn's hand and quickly zigzagged past the snickering officers to the restroom.
"What's gotten into her?" Gus and Shawn shrugged their shoulders as they helped Henry get some bottled water and healthy snacks to put on Juliet's desk. "Just in case." The three men nodded and went back to their previous endeavors.
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After Carlton had arrived at Grace's apartment at seven in the morning he expected a tongue lashing when the clearly sleep deprived agent answered the door but instead she opened the door more and threw a pillow and blanket at him. Making a bed out of the couch he lay down and realized how tired he really was and soon was drifting off to the land of nod.
A gut-wrenching scream woke him up about three hours later and on auto pilot he pulled his weapon and was entering Grace's bedroom before his mind registered being awake. Grace was curled up in an impossibly small ball in the corner of her room screaming and sobbing. Carlton put his gun down on her dresser and approached her carefully. "Grace?" He eyes were wild and unfocused as she looked around at his words. He crouched down in front of her, reached out a hand and placed it on her shoulder. Instead of screaming of recoiling more Grace lashed out knocking Carlton flat on his back and before he could react he felt the cold metal of pistol under his chin.
"Don't you fucking move." Carlton raised his hands in a placating matter and watched as Grace's eyes focused and became less wild.
"Grace. It's me, Carlton. Remember you let me in this morning." The gun was taken away from Carlton's chin and he heard her put the hammer back down and flip the safety.
"Carlton?" Then her face crumbled and the tears began. "Oh god. I almost shot you!" Slowly she stood and walked over to her dresser where she put her gun. Carlton stood and could see how badly she was shaking. "I was back in that shed and...and..."
"Grace it's alright. How about you sit down and make sure you didn't rip any stiches." He guided her to the bed and after she plopped down he started with her head and worked his way down. Several bruises were turning yellow and the cuts were already healed on her face, her right arm was still in a cast to the elbow, he lifted her shirt up a bit and checked the side that the ice pick had been stabbed in, her abdomen was one giant mess of bruising and a gnarled scar where acid was thrown on in. There were other bruises and cuts but they were minor compared to that scar he quickly pulled her shirt back down knowing how embarrassed she was of it. "Everything looks Ok." He sat down next to her in the bed and grabbed her left hand. "You want to talk about it?" She shook her head vehemently, sighed deeply and closed her eyes.
"I just want to forget, you know?" Carlton nodded and despite her closed eyes Grace knew he was doing just that. "I haven't been able to sleep more than three hours a night. I am just so freaking tired." She opened her eyes and saw his eyes boring into her soul. Carlton thought she was sleep deprived but as he studied her he realized just how much. The dark circles under her eyes looked like bruises, she was still shaky and her eyes were so blood shot they looked mostly red. With his other hand he brushed his knuckles across her cheek again she sighed and closed her eyes just reveling in his touch. He stood, pulled back her blanket and tucked her in when she lay down.
"I'll be here to protect you I promise." She nodded and he went to leave the room.
"Don't go." He froze in the door frame, thought about it for about 2.3 seconds and found himself under her covers on the other side of the bed. Slowly they both drifted off to sleep.
Carlton wasn't sure how long she had slept this time but she woke up the same was she had earlier, screaming. He shot up like a bullet and grabbed hold of her before she got out of the bed. "I gotcha Grace. I'm here." He felt her relax to his touch and she rolled over to face him.
"Sorry." He just shrugged his shoulders as if to say 'no biggie' and scooted closer to her to gently put an arm around her waist. "I-I really don't cuddle. Never have." Grace's eyes started to drift shut and her words were becoming more mumbled.
"Me either. Ex-wife hated that." Carlton's eyes were already closed and his voice was extremely thick with sleep. "Always felt like I was being smothered."
"Me too." The bedroom was soon filled with the sound of regular breathing as they slept. Grace didn't wake up screaming for the rest of the day as her dreams turned from hammers and ice picks to dark hair, blue eyes, and the subtle smell of old spice.