A/N: This was written for the Flasher group on FWAR.

Beta: plainjanedee

"Katie?" The roof door to the hospital was thrown open as Jake Riley bounded through it, panicked. "Katie!" He yelled concerned, his gloved hands interlocking over the top of his police helmet as his panicked eyes searched frantically for me.

"I'm here, Jake," I answered dejectedly, my barely-there voice floated over to him in the soft breeze as I stood by the wall, looking over to the crowd of sick people below.

Letting out an audible sigh of relief, his anxious body visibly relaxed. "Jesus, baby," he growled, ripping off his helmet and carelessly throwing it to the gravel beneath our feet. Storming closer, he stopped at the regulated 4-to-6 foot away from me; his nose was flaring, his eyes narrowed with anger and his hands balled into fists by his side. "You scared the hell out of me! You can't just... Christ, you can't just disappear like that, Katie!"

Sucking in a deep breath, I turned and folded my arms protectively over my midsection. "I'm sorry, I just... needed to breathe."

Clearly distressed and struggling with our distance, Jake muttered a curse before pacing the short length of the section we were standing in. "I thought you'd—" he laced his fingers behind his neck and let out a frustrated sigh. "—I thought you'd left."

Chuckling bitterly, I shook my head. "And go where, Jake? My home is outside of the cordon and in case you hadn't noticed, there are still four children left in my care."

"I know, I just—" he swallowed hard, his eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "—I couldn't stomach the idea of you leaving and not saying goodbye. God!" He roared, launching his fist into the wall and kicking his helmet clear across the roof. "I fucking hate the idea of you leaving, period."

Hating to see him like this, I took a hesitant step forward, wanting to touch and soothe him, but a little wary. It'd been ingrained into our brains to keep our distance from everyone in case the virus was transmitted by touch. "Why would you hate the idea of me leaving, Jake?" I asked, my voice breathy.

Bracing his hands against the wall, Jake hung his head low between his shoulders. "This is killing me, Katie," he croaked.

My heart drummed rapidly against my rib cage "What is? Tell me, please?"

Peering up at me over his shoulder, his eyes were red-rimmed as he rasped, "These goddamned restrictions. Fuck, all I can think about is touching you, holding you... kissing you. It's driving me insane."

"You want to kiss me?"

Whimpering, he murmured, "More than my next breath."

Breathing hard, I edged closer toward him, our bodies almost touching. "What if it's killing me too?"

"Katie..." he gave a tortured groan. "God, you have no idea how badly I wanna feel your lips on mine, but we can't."

"I never would've pegged you for a guy who followed the rules," I baited, biting my lip to stifle my smile.

Laughing softly, he replied, "You know you have an infectious smile? And so freaking beautiful."

Throwing caution to the wind, I gripped his bulletproof vest and tugged him closer. "Stop stalling and kiss me already."

"Screw it," Jake growled, sealing his lips over mine.

So worth the wait.