Eve was hot. She was gritty. She was exhausted. As she opened her front door, she groaned a little. Her body protested as she moved in a way that aggravated her bruised ribs.

She could kill him. If she didn't love him so much, she would kill him. Well, she would kill him if it wasn't her job to keep him alive.

A slight smile flitted over Eve's face. She had to admit that the whole fiasco wasn't completely Jake's fault. There was nothing in their books to suggest there would be so many traps, and the magic guardian at the end had been a complete surprise. Most of her irritation wasn't because she was tired, sore, and dirty. It was because Jake had risked himself needlessly several times—one to protect her, even though she was supposed to be protecting him. He liked to take risks and sometimes he seemed to believe he was invincible.

Without bothering to turn on the light, she slipped her jacket off of heavy arms and let it drop to the floor. She kicked off her shoes and kept walking through her apartment in the dark, shedding clothes as she went. Her only thoughts were of a long, hot shower before tumbling, pajamas optional, into bed.

Eve blinked at the sudden brightness when she flicked on the light, and she rubbed her eyes to clear the tears. Happy to see her bathroom at last, she shambled gratefully over to the tub.

The first blast of hot water was like heaven. Eve closed her eyes and let it wash over her face and thread through her hair. She could almost feel the grime being pried from her body. With the grime, the water took the sharpness of the memories and the lingering effects of her all too real fear that Jake had finally run out of luck. As his Guardian, his death would be a failure she didn't want to even contemplate. As the woman who loved him, it would be devastating.

The spray had lulled her into a half doze when she heard a knock on her front door. Groaning, Eve didn't move, hoping whoever it was would go away. Her hopes of this were dashed when the knock came again, this time a little louder.

With a sigh, she shut off the water and got out, ignoring her muscles' protests. The shower had brought her back to life some, so she didn't stumble as she grabbed the robe from a nearby hook and trudged towards the door.

Since she was half naked, she took a quick peek through the peephole to see who was disturbing her when all she wanted to do was sleep. Her annoyance vanished at the sight of her Librarian. He was also newly clean and wearing jeans and a simple cotton shirt. His favorite beanie was pulled low over his forehead in contrast to his sleeves, which were rolled up, showing off his muscular forearms. The best part of the picture was the very large pizza box he was holding in his hands.

Smiling, Eve quickly opened the door and asked, "What are you doing here? I thought you were going home to sleep."

"I was hungry," he said, brushing past her.

She was surrounded by a mouthwatering scent of Stone and pizza. She didn't know which smelled better. Eve's stomach growled and she realized suddenly that she was ravenous. Jake glanced at her and winked.

"I could eat," she admitted, pulling her robe more securely around her and shutting the door.

"We burned a lot of energy." He bypassed her kitchen and headed straight to the living room.

"Where are you going?"

"Get some plates."

Since this was obviously the only answer she was going to get, Eve went and dug out some plates and napkins. When she got to the living room, Stone was already sitting on her couch with the pizza box open on the coffee table. At her entrance, he looked up and smiled warmly, the corners of his eyes crinkling.

"Works?" she asked.

"Of course."

He actually preferred meat lovers, but he always bought works because he knew it was her favorite.

Eve crossed the room and sat beside him on the couch, leaning against him just slightly and tucking up her legs. He took the plates from her wordlessly and pulled four slices out of the box, putting two on each plate.

Eve leaned over and picked up the remote. "Movie?"

"Yeah."

She turned on the TV and went to the movie stations. "See No Evil; Hear No Evil?"

He chuckled and handed her some pizza. "Mama hates that movie. Too much cussing."

"The English Patient?"

"No."

"Despicable Me?"

"I like that one," he admitted.

"No, wait. Look."

"What?"

"The Mummy's coming on."

He grinned and settled back against the cushions. "That's more like it."

Despite the fact that he lived it every day, Jake loved supernatural action/adventure movies.

"Okay. You bought the pizza, you can pick the movie." Not that she minded. She'd always been partial to a little action/adventure herself.

They were silent as they began devouring their pizza as they waited for the movie to start. Eve enjoyed the feel of Stone pressed up against her. Their arms constantly brushed as they ate, which she found rather comforting.

Though they only had a ten minute wait for the movie, they were stuffed with pizza before the opening credits. Eve placed her plate on top of the pizza box with Jake's before moving her body even closer against his. He glanced at her and threaded their fingers together.

"Thank you, Eve," he said softly.

"For what?"

"Saving my life...again."

She shrugged. "You save the world. I save you."

"Well, thanks anyway, darlin'." He leaned forward slightly and kissed her cheek.

Eve warmed as much from his 'darlin'' as she did from his kiss. He didn't call her by endearments often, but when he did, there was a soft rumble to his tone that made her stomach flip.

"Try not to throw yourself into deadly circumstances next time, all right?"

He tapped her nose lightly with his finger. "If I stayed out of danger, you'd be out of a job."

"Oh, with you, I know that will never happen."

Affection twinkled in his eyes. "You love the adventure as much as I do."

She couldn't argue with that, though she sometimes wished for a little less danger. "Just promise me you'll be careful."

"Yes, ma'am."

Eve rolled her eyes. "Watch the movie, Librarian."

He turned towards the screen, but his hand squeezed hers. They were silent again as the story began. Within minutes, Eve felt her eyelids grow heavy. She blinked and tried to hold them open. Warmth from Jake's body melted into her, making her feel cozy and cared for. Tiredly, she shifted so she could rest her head on his shoulder. Her ran his thumb gently over the back of her hand, and Eve sighed softly.

Against her will, her eyes closed and the voices on the TV suddenly seemed far away. The slight rise and fall of Jake's body was soothing as his rhythmic breathing brought her closer and closer to sleep.

She heard him softly whisper, "Good night, my Guardian," as she let herself slip away. The words were like a hug and Eve, who'd never really felt as if she belonged anywhere, knew she belonged here, in this place, with him.

That comforting thought was her last before sleep claimed her.