Ale absolutely loved Eliot's apartment. She had been staying there exactly a week and it was one of the safest, homiest places she had ever been. It was a beautiful, wood apartment, much like Nate's. Eliot's apartment was more rustic, however, and it was also much bigger and had a bigger kitchen and living room. His second floor had three guestrooms, two bathrooms and Eliot's room. His main floor had a workout room off the side, and his balcony was unbelievably gorgeous.
They had a routine down that often started with Ale and Eliot running in the morning, Eliot cooking breakfast while Ale got ready for the day, Eliot getting ready as Ale cleaned up, and then they headed to Nate's. They often cooked together for dinner, and then watched movies or read until they were tired enough to go to bed.
Ale woke up with nightmares often, but they weren't nearly as stifling as they were. Instead of five a night, she was down to two or three, which, in her mind, was good. Eliot only came into her room when he could hear her crying, calmed her down, and then went back to his room.
Ale hated when he left—he gave her such a sense of calm, just like he did when Ale was first with the team. She had decided, however, that she really needed to handle it on her own. She also didn't want to disrupt Eliot, and she hated having people worry over her.
Eliot had been hesitant about letting Ale be alone with her demons, but she finally convinced him that she would get him if she really needed him.
Ale truly was enjoying her new life, even though it was so hard to let go of her old one. She needed something to do, though. She was feeling idle and like she needed some deed to do. The only hard part would be convincing Eliot to let her do something without him.
As far as he was concerned, the people looking for her were always following one step behind her, and he told her that her life was in his hands and he was not going to take it lightly. Eliot never let Ale go anywhere by herself, and if he had somewhere to be he dragged her along. Ale knew he was just super focused on his job, like always, but she also felt badly that she was plaguing his life.
Eliot was downstairs stretching for he and Ale's run when he heard Ale scream his name. Before he could think about going into her room Ale came running out, yelling Eliot's name faster and louder with every step she took down the hallway. She came bounding down the stairs, jumping into Eliot's arms.
Eliot, expecting tears, was surprised when Ale pulled away with a smile on her face.
"What was that for?" he asked, laughing.
"Ask me how many nightmares I had last night," Ale said, Eliot smiling.
"How many?"
"None! I had absolutely zero nightmares for the first time in weeks, Eliot," she laughed, Eliot overcome with happiness.
He hadn't been happy about Ale sequestering him to his room unless he heard her crying. She hated the idea of Ale being alone and dealing with everything she had to deal with. He wanted to help her heal, though, and if this is how she wanted to do it, he had to respect that.
Eliot picked Ale up in his arms, spinning her around. When he realized what he had done he put her down, Ale looking at him with a huge smile.
"I cannot believe this. I have not felt this rested in ages. This is the first night I have not thrown up, I didn't wake up crying…it feels so good," Ale smiled, Eliot nodding.
"That's fantastic darlin'," Eliot smiled. "Now, are we going to go for a run or are you giving that up now that you are all better?"
"I actually want to do something else, but I don't want you to have to come. It's kind of stupid," Ale said, looking at Eliot with hopeful eyes.
"What do you want to do?"
"Never mind," Ale sighed. "Instead can I just stay here while you go for a run? I promise I won't open the door, I'll close the blinds, and you can check in with me every fifteen minutes. Please."
Eliot thought about it. Eliot hated leaving Ale alone…then again, she was so excited and she wanted to celebrate this huge accomplishment but didn't want to drag Eliot anywhere he didn't want to be.
"Okay. You can stay here alone and blast your music and run around the house like a crazy person to make up for whatever you wanted to do. Just know that if I call I need you to answer, or I will send out two police forces to find you," Eliot sighed, Ale smiling even wider.
"Thank you! You are the best! Have a good run. And don't worry…I won't do anything stupid. I just want to watch a movie or listen to some music and just…enjoy it, you know?"
Eliot nodded, slipping out the front door.
While he ran, he thought about Ale and how easily she had fit into his life. It was amazing how comfortable h felt, and how much he missed having Ale running beside him, hearing her steady breathing as he matched it to his own.