A/N: I have a tendency to write short but frequently posted chapters. I hope that doesn't bother any one too much. And I know you guys must be feeling the WH13 withdrawals as much as I am, so give me something here and review! Even if it's just one word. =]
"Pete, what are you doing?" Myka groaned.
"I'm coming with you," he replied, waiting as she opened the door to her hotel room.
"I don't need you to babysit me, Pete."
"Myka, it's bad enough that you signed yourself out AMA. I'm not leaving you alone by yourself right now. If you don't like it, I will drag you kicking and screaming back to the hospital and you can let the nurses babysit you." Seriously, Pete was getting frustrated beyond all belief at this point. The last few hours hadn't been bad enough with Myka nearly dying, now she had to make it even more difficult for him. He knew it was slightly irrational, but he was afraid she was more injured than they thought and that she would suddenly stop breathing in her sleep or something. This was simply not a fight she was going to win.
Myka eyed him, deciding how serious he was. "Fine," she finally conceded. "But I'm exhausted, so I'm going to bed."
"Coolio, I'm ready to hit the hay, too."
Myka finally opened her door and allowed him to follow her in. She immediately made her way over to her suitcase, grabbed some pajamas, and headed to the bathroom to change.
"I'm going to get some stuff from my room. I'll be back," she heard Pete call through the door. She didn't reply, instead gazing at herself in the mirror.
She looked an absolute mess. Her naturally curly hair had dried in some places but not others and had begun to tangle. Her makeup from earlier was smudged. She felt dirty from the lake water but knew she was definitely not ready to have any more up-close experiences with water and decided to take a shower in the morning. She quickly took her clothes off, washed her face, and put her pajamas on, ready to collapse in her bed.
She wondered vaguely at her calmness. Not fours hours ago she had been trapped at the bottom of a lake, and yet now her only thoughts were of sleeping the rest of the night away in peace. She decided that she was fine, and that she was just too tired to think at the moment.
Unfortunately for Pete, he was having the opposite problem. He couldn't stop thinking about what had happened. Myka had been next to him, and then she was just gone. He remembered the panic he felt not knowing where she'd gone, then realizing that she must have gone into the lake. Waiting a few seconds for her to surface. The full-blown hysteria when she didn't appear. He recalled the adrenaline pumping as he jumped in to find her, the complete panic when he couldn't. His subconscious counting how long it had been, passing two minutes, three minutes. Each passing second making it less likely he would find her alive, if he even found her at all.
Pete banged his fist on the countertop, trying to will the images away. He quickly took his clothes off and jumped in the shower, making sure that he was quick enough to leave Myka alone for the least amount of time possible. She was probably fine, but it was necessary for his sanity that he be with her as much as possible to stop the worry he could already feel forming.
He got out of the shower and dried himself off, already dressing to make his way back to her room. He looked at the time on the clock. It had only been four minutes. Such a short amount of time now, when earlier it had seemed like hours.
He made his way down the hall and lightly knocked on Myka's door, more out of courtesy than anything as he opened it and went in without waiting for a response. Myka was already in the bed, fast asleep. He sat next to her on the bed, not knowing what else to do. Her breathing showed a deep, steady rhythm, indicative of a peaceful sleep.
He was glad one of them would sleep that night.