-three days later-

Naru had been admitted for sleep deprivation but had been released the next morning; thanks to Lin. Mai however had been asleep the entire time, though all of her vitals were normal. It was the middle of the night and Naru had snuck in, convincing the nurse to let him stay with her. After Mai's first night terror the nurse agreed, Naru being the only one who could keep her calm.

When Mai did wake, Naru was sitting in a chair, his head and arms hunched over on the side of her bed cradling her hand gently. She pulled her hand away and stroked his hair as he stirred.

"Mai?" he asked relieved sitting up. "How are you, would you like some tea?"

She smiled. "Naru offering me tea, I must be dreaming." Her voice came out in dry whispers. He helped her sit up and held her tea cup as she drank. She sighed "Much better."

He laid her back down gently. "N…Naru?" she whispered hesitantly. Before she could finish her sentence she fell asleep again.

-The next day-

Seeing as Mai had woken up the doctor had no problem letting her go, all her signs were normal and she had no serious trauma.

"Naru." She asked as he helped her into the SPR van. He had convinced everyone what Mai needed was rest; too much company would only push her past her point. With a few grumbles from Monk and Ayako they all finally agreed.

"Could I stay with you?" she asked sheepishly. "I don't want to….."

"Of course" Naru said cutting her off. "I wouldn't let you go home alone anyway. I already sent Ayako to pack you some things; she dropped them off at my apartment earlier this morning."

"Thank you." She said staring out the window. He hated seeing Mai so quiet, usually he would be thankful but now…

In his apartment Mai stopped looking around. The living room was large, black couches and grey carpet with a large TV station, which was black, naturally. The kitchen however was a sea of white counters and stainless steel. The walls were cream. Mai noticed her bag lying on the couch and picked it up.

"If you want to shower, the bathroom is next to my bedroom down the hall." He said reading her mind.

She nodded and shuffled down the hall. The bathroom was big too, brown tiles and white walls though, by far the brightest room of the house. She stood in the shower for a long time, letting the hospital smell run off of her, but there was something she couldn't clean. That ghost left her feeling dirty. No matter how much she scrubbed she couldn't reach it.

Eventually she gave up and shuffled into a pair of shorts and a large sweater. She left the steamy room to find Naru had made tea for her. She took it gratefully and sat beside him on the couch.

"You should rest." Naru noted eyeing her. "You just got released this morning, take my bed." He sipped his tea.

"Are you sure? Where will you sleep?" Mai asked

"The couch will be fine, I insist."

Mai nodded and left the couch, his room was of course all grey and no fun. He had a queen sized bed covered in black blankets and grey pillows. His walls were lined with black wooden furniture filled with leather bound books. She stumbled onto the bed and snuggled into the sea of pillows before drifting off.

She'd only been asleep an hour when Naru heard fitful screams. He rushed to the room, Mai had been tossing and turning, her face shone with tears. He shook her gently; stirring groggily she looked confused before bursting into tears. She wrapped her arms around Naru's waist and buried her face in his chest, sobbing.

"Shhhhh." He said unsure of what to do except stroke her hair. "Did you dream about your mom?" he asked, she nodded and he wrapped his arms around her.

She tried to hide her surprise, she didn't know Naru could be this kind and caring.

"It was a horrible thing," he continued. "No one should have suffered like that." His mind raced over what the lemurs had said, her teacher and his arms tightened. "No one should suffer like you have." He mumbled to himself.

Mai leaned against him defeated. "Will you stay with me?" she asked quietly.

"Mai…" he protested, it wasn't appropriate as her boss, especially considering how he felt.

"Please Naru." Her eyes pleading.

He nodded giving in and lay on the bed with her. Mai rested her head on his shoulder and an arm on his chest; it wasn't long until the both of them fell asleep.

Sorry this chapter, and the last were so short but my mind began to drift to another case XD so I will be posting soon! WARNING there will be a time skip from where they are now.