With a third body in the car and with sitting up hurting more than it was worth, Ben had opted to lie in the back seat while Claire drove them to their temporary vacation spot. He knew without asking that she'd suggested the place as a way to pick up his spirits, but Ben couldn't help feel guilty that he was preventing her from picking up another job.
Truth be told, he wasn't exactly looking forward to The Dells, either. It wasn't as though he'd be able to swim or anything, but people watching had its appeal, as did seeing her enjoying herself. On the trip up he mostly slept, fading in and out as Jesse and Claire made small talk.
They still had plenty of money left on his card to pay for a hotel, but it conveniently became less of a problem when Jesse produced enough money to pay for four nights from his wallet. Ben was really too tired to argue over the ethics, especially considering most of his money had been earned in less-than-moral ways over the past seven years.
Jesse was happy to pay for the place, even though he was skeptical about what kind of "beach" there would be in the middle of nowhere. Still, for the first time since lighting up in the woods, things felt back to normal.
"This is what people have to do around here? They couldn't just move to the ocean for a real beach?" he said, grinning at Claire. It'd been her idea after all.
Claire smirked pleasantly at him, then shared the look with Ben as the elevator slowed to a stop on the bottom floor. "You grow up here, you learn to cope." Here, of course, meant the Midwest, where a huge chunk of the natives had never even seen the ocean. Or a mountain. Or anything much bigger than a big hill covered in trees. Despite it only being a few days past the turn into Spring and a bit cold outside, the air that greeted them off the elevator was warm and balmy, and hinted of chlorine. Claire had her khaki shorts and a raw cotton peasant shirt on over her suit. It was enough like summer for her.
"Besides," Ben added. "It's not warm enough for the beach yet. We'll make it out that way when it warms up maybe. If there's a job that way." The sudden swell of voices came at them like a wave.
"Whoa..." Jesse stared. The room itself was overwhelming, like an enormous plasticine mix of playground and tropical beach, but that wasn't what made him stare. What made him stare was the people. "Shit, didn't think there were this many people in Wisconsin."
Claire also stared a little wide-eyed. "It's not even the busy season." Their path down to the sandy stretch of a man-made lagoon was full of stopping, weaving, and avoiding too many small children than should be legal in one place. Even the beach was littered with people, beach towels, coolers and bar cocktail drinks. She briefly thought of the horror that would've been a janitorial job here.
"Ooh, watch it there!" A surprised, but friendly middle-aged woman chirped up at Claire before the younger woman stepped on a partially devoured bologna sandwich. She grabbed it out of the way with a short apology and headed toward the line of garbage cans up by the path. What looked to be her teenaged son, soaking wet and dusted with sand, smiled up at Claire and moved a bit of the family's beach towels.
"Not a lotta room, sorry," he said with his mother's distinct Wisconsin accent.
"You're not lying," Jesse said, shaking his head. "What's going on? Is there a..." What was it that could bring so many people to Wisconsin? "...a thing in town?"
"There wasn't anything in the newspaper," Ben commented, brows knitted together. A small group of children raced out in front of them; Ben stopped on a dime, but his face went tight as the muscle contractions sent pain shooting through the nerves in his chest and abdomen. "Maybe I missed it or something..."
"Who knows," Claire said lightly. She'd spent many a summer vacation here with her family before everything changed. "Maybe there's a family reunion here or something." She dropped her towel and peeled off the wispy over-shirt, then kicked off her flip flops.
Jesse's head snapped right around, no longer caring how many kids were running and screaming around them. He grinned. "Bikini, huh? That's not very angelic." Claire whipped him with her shirt. Ben was also staring, though he was a lot less vocal about the thoughts suddenly racing through his head.
"What?" She looked at both of them, her brows pinched a little over a wrinkled nose, Claire's sign of indignation. "It's the only suit I have."
"No, it's-" Ben stammered out, caught somewhere between trying to reassure her and showing a decent amount of concern as to how much of her skin was showing. There were other women in bikinis, but those women weren't Claire. "It's fine. You look fine."
"Yeah, I've got no problem with it," Jesse said, winking before he tugged off his own shirt and dropping it on the towel. "Let's see if we can find any empty water."
Claire smirked a little at Jesse's wink, then turned her attention to Ben. Her thumbs hooked her shorts and pushed them down to her feet. "You sure you're not coming? Little weightlessness might help."
Ben gave a little lift of his shoulders then shook his head. When he smiled, it didn't quite touch his eyes. "I'll watch. Don't go not havin' fun because'a me." Claire caught that half-dead smile and looked at him softly.
"You could wear your shirt, mate, if you're worried about the bruises," Jesse pointed out.
"Oh, I'm more worried about getting some 10-year-old's foot kicking into my ribs," Ben replied, brows arching slightly. "Besides, this?" he gestured with his hands. "Not a proud water-goer's body. I look like friggin' Casper had a freak baby with a chia pet." Claire snickered a little and put her hand on his shoulder.
"Ben, look around. This is Wisconsin." She leaned in a little closer, secretive and teasing. "They all look like Casper." His shoulder got a warm squeeze; Claire gave him a reassuring smile and slipped away, glancing at Jesse to follow.
"We'll try'n scare some space for you," Jesse said with a sympathetic smile, before following after Claire.
With their backs turned to him, Ben finally allowed himself to frown and sigh in disappointment. He really liked swimming. It'd been years since he'd stepped into water deeper than his knees.
Stupid vampires, he thought bitterly, scouting around for a beach chair to lie in.
'Scaring' up some clear water might've been the only option-the lagoon was packed with floating rafts and flailing children, couples canoodling and a few scattered elderly folks looking just to be left alone. The danger of wayward feet was very real, Claire realized as she waded to her hips and was nearly caught by one flopping by.
"Not gonna get a lot of 'swimming' done here..." she glanced at Jesse, then dipped under the water, just to resurface, pushing her hair back in the process.
Meanwhile, the teenager with the Wisconsin accent tipped his head at Ben when he settled nearby. "Ey, my baby sis had that chair a few minutes ago-just warnin' ya, she was covered in peanut butter."
That time, the smile was real, though he felt a tug in his heart at the memories that filled his mind. "Nothin' I ain't used to, kid, but thanks," Ben said, carefully pulling the towel hanging around his neck down and tossing it lightly over the length of the chair. It took him twice as long to ease into it, his face pinched the entire time until he'd finally managed to find a comfortable, horizontal position.
"So, where you visiting from? You here for the story?" the kid said, propping up.
Without even thinking, Ben sat up. Again, he had to fight off a wince. "What story?" The kid snickered.
"This here's the Dell's first haunted water park. They just announced it over New Years."
Ben's brows arched slightly. So that was why the place was so crowded: Tourists. It took all his effort not to scowl. It was very possible the so-called story was a hoax meant to scare up some extra money during the dry part of the season, but sometimes the stories had a lot more truth than people realized.
"Never thought a water park could end up haunted," Ben said slowly, hoping to coax more out of the kid.
"I hear it's a kid that drowned here when the place first opened," he said, sitting forward. "They kept it all quiet and that's why he's kicking up a fuss now, tugging people's hair, whispering in their ears, all that poltergeist stuff."
There was no stopping the scowl that pulled at his face. Another poltergeist. At least this one sounded mostly harmless. "Sounds like just a story to me," Ben said. Still, there was one thing that sounded interesting. "What's it whispering?"
The kid's grin lengthened; clearly he put as much stock into the haunted hotel story as he did the scary-houses at the carnival. "'Come to the water,', or some silly shit like that." He even wiggled his fingers for dramatic effect.
Ben made a show of scoffing. "That all? How's that scary? I've seen scarier stories on the CW." The kid rolled his eyes and laughed.
"It's not. That's the point-s'all a marketing gig."
"Sound like," Ben said with a nod, his eyes searching for the two familiar faces in the sea of strangers floating on the surface of the water. "Looks like it's workin', too."
Looking like she did, Claire got a lot of attention from the young male population. Which didn't bother Jesse, until the splashing started getting out of hand. "Hey, hey, we gotta breathe guys," he said, raising a hand as he got between Claire and the little gang.
Despite the way she cordially smiled and went a long with the gaggle of adolescents-mainly because she had nowhere else to go in the crowded lagoon, Claire was grateful for the blockade-she could handle a lot of things, but kids weren't one of them. They were like exotic animals to her, sometimes. "Yeah, time-out, or something," Claire muttered. She swiped at her face with her palm and shook water out of her left ear. Everything was a little muddled.
"How 'bout a game, then?" one of the older boys called out. He appeared to be the closest thing to a ringleader, because all the other boys immediately went quiet and looked back at him. The boy put a hand through his wet blond hair, his blue-green eyes flashing with mischief. "Marco polo?"
Jesse gave a snort. "Yeah, kid, we aren't twelve. You go for it, though."
The boy made an ugly look at Jesse, turning his eyes to Claire. "C'mon, it'll be fun." Claire looked at Jesse, smirking, then back to the kid. Right-wander around a crowded pool with her eyes closed. Sounded like a great idea.
"Next round. Sure." Claire didn't exactly have a normal teen-hood. She had no idea how to deal with this situation, so she stayed in her default politeness.
"Your loss," another boy called out. They immediately started rough housing again, though there looked to be some orchestration to it because one minute they were all pushing and shoving each other then the next, the older boy was roughly shoved straight into Claire. He seemed to be somewhat ready for it, given the placement of his hand as he fell into her chest-first.
Her eyes widened, the moment seemed to slow in time. There was no mistaking the press of a wet, but warm hand covering most of her breast, and one at her hip, just over the surface of the water. A momentary snap of memory forgot that the kid was, in fact, a kid. Claire snapped at his wrist and twisted him sharply around, until his knuckles grazed the tips of his shoulder blades. A beat later, she shoved him away from her with a huffed breath.
Jesse was only halfway to Claire when it was over. Except there was a flash of maroon that came away with the kid, and out of the corner of his eye he could tell Claire was showing more flesh than before, and covered quickly with both arms folded over her chest.
"Give it here, you wanker," he snapped, grabbing the kid's arm and yanking it back. The kid dropped the top immediately and it floated to the surface, bobbing with the motion of the water. As he snatched the bikini top back, Jesse added, "Acting like that, your hand's the only thing your dick'll ever see."
But the kids hardly heard Jesse, already tumbling over themselves with laughter and congratulations before heading off into the masses. However, before Jesse could get back to Claire, he felt a very strong grip settle on his ankles beneath the water and tug him suddenly and sharply under.
As if Claire wasn't gaping enough. She stood frozen for a half-second, wide-eyed at Jesse's sudden disappearance under the water, before her brows pinched hard in the middle, and shouted, angry, at his shape. "Not the time, Jesse!" Sure, he'd loose his footing right then.
All sound should have ceased when he went under, or at the very least muted. What he heard instead was the sound of childish laughter, echoing over and doubling up. Everything was dark and heavy. Then, mere inches from his face and appearing out of nowhere, was the face of a child, her skin and hair milky white and her eyes strangely large with tilting pupils. Her lips curved in a wide smile, flashing pointed teeth. Her mouth didn't move outside of the too-wide-to-be-human grin, but he heard a voice as clear as day weaved in with the continuous laughter:
"You will return to the Source, or you will die."
Jesse bucked away, gasping a lungful of water before he broke the surface. He spluttered, his heart pounding. He dug at the water, trying to find...whatever that thing was. Claire was ready to greet him with one of her best glares, but it went unappreciated because of all his flailing. She adjusted her cover on herself so one arm still crossed her chest so the other could snatch back her top.
"Having problems?" she asked with no small amount of bite, then looked at her untied piece of wet fabric like it was a puzzle box, unsure of how she was supposed to get decent again without becoming much more indecent in the process.
Turning around at the words, Jesse's wide eyes met hers. Then he grabbed her arm. "We gotta get out of the water; there's something in the water," he said, low and urgent.
"Wait, Jess-hang on!" Claire's eyes went wide as she was suddenly lurched forward by the arm-thankfully the one that wasn't providing her only desperate cover, but the urgency seemed to goad her legs, somewhat clumsily, through the water after him-even though all she wanted to do was pull away. By the time they reached the ankle-deep water, she'd earned her fair amount of stares, her cheeks blazed enough to turn the water on her face to steam.
"What do you mean-there's something in the water?" she snipped at him, though quietly, and not before pulling her arm away from him to fold across her chest again. So much for being discreet.
By the time they got to the imitation shoreline, Ben was already there, his face drawn and concerned. The moment he saw her strap-free shoulders his eyes widened and he quickly threw his towel around her, if only to avoid them being thrown out for indecent exposure.
"What the hell is going on?"
"There was- something grabbed me," Jesse said, folding his arms. He shivered in the now too-cold air. "It looked like a kid, except fucking creepy."
Ben's expression darkened. "C'mon, let's get outta here," he said, already leading them in the direction of the elevator which would take them to the dressing rooms.
"And you're sure you weren't hallucinating?" Ben asked him once they were back in the hotel again. Jesse had told them what had happened while on the way back in the GTO, but he'd been panicked and unable to formulate proper words. Now that he'd had a smoke and a few minutes to collect himself, he'd told them the whole experience in the finer detailed. Claire seemed honestly uneasy at the description of the creature, but Ben had a pretty good feeling that it was just a mental projection of some sort. There was no way something that ugly could just be walking around the water park without causing mass panic by anyone who saw it.
"Fuck you, I'm not crazy," Jesse snapped. The cigarette had calmed his nerves, but that just left the anger behind. Anger that he'd been accosted on vacation. Anger that something had threatened his life. Anger that he couldn't have one moment of normalcy. Not since he met these two. "Why would I even hallucinate something like that?"
Ben put his hands up in a sign of defense. "Just want to clarify. We did find you in the woods smoking dope after all." Maybe now's not the time to joke, he thought to himself. "I've just never heard of a creature like that."
Claire sat on the bed, Indian Style as always, tapping away at the laptop in front of her. "How'd you say the eyes looked? Like a cat?"
"No, like a fish. Big fish eyes," Jesse said, taking a breath and turning from Ben. "And what in fuck's name is the source?"
"Could be a lot of things." Claire was having trouble picturing this... whatever it was, without keeping the shudders down.
Ben attempted to get up from his chair, using his arms to lift his body weight. His arms ached, but it hurt a lot less than trying to sit up the regular way.
"So much for a marketing ploy," Ben said, mostly thinking out loud as he found his computer and brought it back to his table. "A kid at the park told me all the thing did was tug hair and pinch people. It's only been happening recently though. Something must have changed."
"Or the other people just didn't want to admit to seeing psycho fish girl," Jesse said, pacing between them. "We need to talk to the staff, people who'd know what was really going on." Claire glanced up at him from the blue haze of her computer screen. Pacing didn't normally make her nervous, but Jesse was obviously wound tight. She rolled her lips and looked at Ben, then back down to her screen.
"They're only gonna tell guests what they've been told to say. Place is so big, I'll go in as a lifeguard tomorrow. Could you please just sit?" Her eyes were on Jesse with a pleading edge.
Biting back the urge to snap at her, Jesse sat hard in an armchair. "Let's just get out of here. If it's not doing anything, it's not a problem."
Ben looked up at him sharply. "Dude. We don't know if it has or hasn't yet. Gotta look it up. There's a process."
"Yeah, I've seen the process, and it takes too long, when I've got some unknown countdown on my head."
"We've all been there several times," Claire started in softly, still typing, then looked over at him. She paused for a beat, then said, "Just leaving doesn't fix anything; not for the people here, not for you." She looked back down at the computer. "Plenty of things like to follow."
"I'd like to see it follow me to Thailand," Jesse said, hunching in his seat.
Ben's jaw tightened behind the screen and this time, he didn't look up as he barked out: "Then go to Thailand. I'll make you a shopping list of stuff to bring back while the grown-ups are at work."
Jesse sat up with a scowl. "Oh yeah? Grown-ups get their asses handed to them by vampires, too?" Claire let out a long breath, and shook her head.
"None of this is helping," Claire said calmly, doing her best to ignore the way she bristled. They'd had their share of ass-kickings, sure, but it was the nature of the beast-and that didn't even include the pang of protectiveness.
"You're absolutely right, Claire," Ben said briskly. "How about the two of you get to investigating since Harry Potter here can't sit still, while I start researching what our timorous beastie might be?" Claire looked at him oddly.
Jesse pushed himself to his feet again, not even looking Ben's way. "Fine, works for me. Let Barbara Gordon here do his thing." He headed for the door.
Claire looked between both of them, feeling very much like a piece of stretched rubber. It lingered on Ben, a silent inquiry written on her face, wondering how she ended up being put in this position. In the end, it was best she keep an eye on the rookie, regardless of his kung-fu magic, or whatever the hell it was. With a sigh, she closed her computer and got up to follow Jesse.
Ben watched them go, once again feeling bitterness burning in his chest. Jesse's words had shot through him like an arrow to the heart, but he wasn't about to walk away from a job. It hurt not to be able to work at full capacity, and to have even allowed himself to get hurt in the first place. Seven years, and sometimes he still felt like an amateur.
"Right," he muttered at the screen.
That was the thing about big, crazy hotel resorts, or any big, crazy place of business that held their particular interest; upper management rarely had that firm a hold on the lower level employees that it was easy to slip through the cracks, especially for an hour or two. Two days, tops-but Claire was hoping this wouldn't be dragged out. The incident at the pool still left a sour taste in her mouth, and the female version of the Lifeguard swim suits she managed to snag from the linen storage on the sub-level were little more than a sports bra and a pair of thick-fabric underwear. More than the bikini that'd failed her, but still-she was a little gun shy.
"Just promise me you won't try to save some drowning kid if you don't know how," she whispered at Jesse as they headed into the employee break room, where she'd heard the 'shift leader' was supposed to be taking his lunch. She twisted her hair into a somewhat wild ponytail, and put on her best Abercrombie smile.
Jesse gave a snort as they entered and said, under his breath, "I'm not going near the water; that thing is still in there." Plastering on a smile of his own, he headed straight for the lone employee, a kid that looked younger than they were.
"Hey, man, mind if we join you?" Claire started in quickly. The lifeguard looked up from his meager lunch of ramen and a pudding cup with a smile.
"Yeah, sure."
"I'm Mandy, this is my cousin Greg-the new guards? They told us to check with you," she made her smile tip more into one cheek than the other. "'less you're busy?"
"Nah, I'm-" his eyes flitted up to the wall clock briefly. "-pretty much done with my break anyway. Just lemme wolf the rest of this down?"
"Yeah, sure. Not like there's a hurry," Jesse said, his smile pleasant, though a small bit of tension discernible in his words, which earned a barely noticeable look from Claire. After a moment, Jesse added, "It's crazy-busy out there, right? Never seen a place so crowded."
"Probably the craziest it's ever been during the slow season," the lifeguard replied with a laugh. "I'm kinda glad to hear they hired on some more lifeguards. It certainly felt like we were understaffed. I actually pulled 40 hours last week, that almost never happens." Claire pulled out the chair next to the lifeguard with the tip of her foot, then sat down.
"What's so different this year?"
The lifeguard shrugged a little, swallowing a bite of food and frowning. "There's been a rumor about some sort of drowning or whatever, but honestly, there hasn't been a drowning case in almost fifteen years. A few close calls sure, but our team is fast and we're all Red-Cross certified."
"Yeah, good thing," Jesse said, bobbing his eyebrows. "But why would a drowning make people come out? I'd think they'd stay away."
"Y'got me, brother," the lifeguard replied around a mouthful of food, giving another shrug. "People are weird. Rumors flying, et cetera. I haven't really been paying that much attention to what's been said." Claire wrinkled her nose a little, and sat back, slumped a bit in her chair.
"What, like, company drama? Somebody getting sued and it's making the papers from here to Milwaukee?" She put on a sarcastic grin to match her tone. No way this guy just knew there were rumors without knowing what they were about. The lifeguard took a large spoonful of the pudding and swallowed before speaking, but his brows were still knit up in a frown. He looked past them to the door, then back up to them again. Claire followed that look, watching the guy close.
"They're just rumors. Isn't any fact in 'em."
"Generally true with rumors," Jesse said with a smile. "Though, if the tourists are going to be asking us questions, might help to at least know what they might say." In the meantime, Claire pushed to her feet and casually padded to the door. She nudged it shut with a few gentle fingertips, then smiled back at the boys.
"Sorry, couldn't hear anything." She smiled a little intently at the actual lifeguard, and slipped back into the chair next to him. "What were you saying again?"
The lifeguard went quiet for a minute while he picked up his bowl and slurped down the last of the soup from the ramen. With both things done he stood, dropping the packages into the trash before bringing his bowl and fork to the sink to wash. He kept his back to them when he spoke.
"They're talkin' about a girl who drowned, from what I overheard," he said, his voice pensive. "Somethin' about people being pulled under. Lots of people get pulled under, though. It's just kids playin' pranks."
"None of the lifeguards or employees have had it happen to them?" Jesse said.
"We don't typically stay in the water. It's a quick in and out usually," the lifeguard replied, putting his fork and bowl in the plastic dish rack before moving to dry off his hands.
Jesse sagged with disappointment. This was looking like a dead end.
"Well what about you?" Claire tipped her head deep toward one shoulder in an exaggerated 'curious puppy' look that she'd found often got results. "Anything happen to you?"
Obvious tension spread across the young man's shoulders and he looked over his shoulder at them before his eyes darted up to the clock and he started moving to the soda machine on the far facing wall.
"What d'you mean?"
He suddenly got very twitchy. Claire's eyebrows wanted to lift, but she kept them still and even, only pressing her lips together in casual inquiry. She also sent a quick glance toward Jesse.
"Well-just that. You act like you been here a while..."
"Four years," the lifeguard replied, making his selection. The machine rattled before popping out a can of Sprite, which he bent at the knees to get then cracked open. He leaned back against the machine as he emptied half the can before speaking.
"Thought I saw somethin' in the water a few days ago."
Jesse's eyes snapped to him a little too quick. "Yeah? What'd it look like?" Inwardly, Claire winced, but hoped the senior lifeguard wouldn't pick up on Jesse's eagerness.
The lifeguard shifted uncomfortably. "You wouldn't believe me if I toldja."
Try me, Claire thought to herself, but instead shifted in her chair, angling herself more toward the guy. "That bad?"
His body language spoke in volumes. "Maybe I just swallowed some chemicals from the water or something and it reacted with my meds, I dunno. I've got SVT so..." he gave another awkward shrug and flushed. "But I'm healthy. I can still swim and do my job. Don't tell anybody."
Claire looked at Jesse, then back to the guard. "Dude, we don't know anyone-no worries." She suddenly wished she and Ben had sprung for those two-way blue-tooths so he could be looking up SVT and the meds that come with it. Guess it'd just have to wait. "What'd you see?"
"It was creepy as hell," the lifeguard muttered, finishing off his drink almost reluctantly before tossing the can into the recycling bin. "Almost see-through, she was so white. And her eyes were messed up."
Jesse looked at Claire, his eyes widening as he gave a small nod. That sounded exactly like what he saw. At least that should be enough to convince Ben that he wasn't seeing things.
"Freaky," Claire commented honestly, trying to remind Jesse to keep it all straight with her eyes. She looked back at the guard. "You just-saw this thing in the water? Didn't anyone else?"
"That's why I think it's got somethin' to do with the chemicals and my meds," came the lifeguard's reply. He looked up at the clock again. "We better get back to work. You guys still want that tour around?"
Jesse glanced at Claire. "I mean, not if we're keeping you from something else. We can always catch up later."
The lifeguard looked between the two of them. "You sure?" he asked, double-checking. "If Paul asked you guys to come find me, I don't wanna get in trouble for ditchin'."
"They messed up the schedules anyway-we weren't supposed to start til tomorrow, but, y'know-since we were here, and all." Claire shot him a warm smile. "We'll catch you tomorrow or somethin'."
Jesse smiled, too. "And no worries. Your secret's safe, man."
As he left, Jesse turned to Claire. "Told you," he said, his grin wide.
Ben's eyes had started to burn with how hard he'd been staring at the screen. There was only so much online that he could look up without having access to city databanks like the library and the newspaper, but he cross-referenced on creatures using the description Jesse provided. He came up with at lest three, but the closest that came up was a river creature called a Mannegishi. He would have to show Jesse a picture of one of the images he'd found to see what he thought.
Ten minutes passed after he finished printing out everything. With nothing else to do, Ben's eyes moved up to the wall clock and then to the door as if expecting them to arrive. They didn't. Ben chewed his lip. Did he make for the shower and the privacy of a locked door, or could he get a quick jerk in with some "aid" while he had an empty room to himself? Technically he could bring the laptop in with him, but he was too afraid of dropping it on the tile or getting it wet.
Fuck it, he thought to himself, clicking open one of his favorite sites and scrolling through until he found a video that looked good. Party scene. Nice. Keeping the sound down out of paranoia, he slid his hand between the elastic waistband of his sweats and clicked the video open.
Claire was pretty quiet the entire elevator ride and walk back to the suite. She was going over the game plan in her head; everything they'd learned, even if it wasn't a lot, at least it was a lead. She was admittedly looking forward to seeing if Ben had found anything interesting in his research-focusing on the job that'd fallen in their laps was a bit easier than facing the awkward tension that she and Jesse had left with Ben.
She slipped the key-card in the electrical slot and pushed the room latch down smoothly, and shouldered into the room in front of Jesse. Her eyes naturally found Ben at the table across the room-but only after a second or two of processing did she actually realize what she was seeing. Ghosts, vampires, demon fish-people... shocking, all of them, but none made her eyes go as wide as they did right then.
"Ohgod!" Her cheeks flash-burned as Claire whipped around, nearly colliding into Jesse's chest.
Not really paying attention before, Jesse's heart jumped at her words. He clutched her close, ready to bolt as he took in the room. And just saw Ben. At the table. Looking like a mortified teenager, with a bulge. He let out a laugh. "You want a minute, mate, we can go."
Ben cursed vividly, his entire face flushed with embarrassment and effort. Fuck fuck fuck shouldda used the shower. Please God, just kill me now. He'd hit the mute button at the very least, but the damage had been done. He'd never be able to look either of them in the eyes again.
"I'm good," he croaked out.
"Yeah, I bet..." Claire's voice was muffled into Jesse's shoulder-she was a little too mortified by awkwardness to chance a look over hers. In a few minutes, she'd be able to fully realize the ridiculousness of the situation. As for the moment, she'd rather let the heat in her cheeks burn away all the images that were suddenly in her head.
Despite Ben's words, the best thing to do would probably take the mortified Claire out of the room and let the mortified Ben resettle himself. With a slight smile, Jesse shuffled them into the room, closing the door before shifting around Claire, who cleared her throat lightly and moved to the bed, dropping her bag to the floor.
"So what'd you find, besides Busty Asian Beauties?" Jesse asked casually.
Ben had closed the laptop and was currently face down in his arms. The angle hurt, but it was better than letting them see his face. He gestured with his hand at the papers in a pile on the tabletop.
"Look for the photo," he muffled out in reply.
"Photo? Someone got a photo?" Jesse said, suddenly serious. He shuffled through the papers, finding a picture of a drawing. It looked pretty human, but those eyes. "That's her."
"One'a the lifeguards says he saw her too," Claire added from her spot by the bed, her fingertips rolling a chewed pencil back and forth, back and forth, almost ritualistically.
Hearing Jesse's tone was enough to finally bring Ben's eyes up, but Claire's movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention and he immediately put his head down again.
"It's a Mannegishi," he said. "River monster. Deadly pranks, et cetera. I think the Source is its river."
"A river? Does Wisconsin have a lot of rivers?" Jesse said quickly. Then, after a thought, "Why would it want me to go there?" Claire stared at her computer screen for a moment, though she wasn't really seeing it.
"This whole area's huge for camping and fishing," she added, but not very hopefully. She went quiet for another moment, then stuck the pencil between her teeth and went to typing. "Too many to narrow it down, unless..."
"Unless they all link back to one source," Ben supplied, still not looking up. Claire tapped a few more times on her keyboard.
"That is one big lake," she spoke around the pencil and turned the laptop around to show them both. This wasn't going to be fun. Claire had a slight irrational fear of being in boats-'slight' being a big understatement.
Jesse leaned close to the screen. "Alright. So say that's what this thing's talking about. What do we do? How do you stop them?"
"Couple ways," Ben said, finally forcing himself to sit upright though he winced the entire time. "Decapitation is the easiest in theory, but the problem is that they're pretty fucking fast and slippery as hell everywhere except their hands and feet. It'd be like wrestling with an eel. But," he added, finding the nearby stack of papers and shuffling through them before he found what he was looking for. "There was... ah, here it is. There's mention of copper poisoning. If we can get a hold of copper bullets, we could probably ice it easy. Even if we can't make a direct kill, it'll poison it to death."
"Copper bullets shouldn't be hard. Get me copper, get me bullets, I'm good to go," Jesse said, looking over at him. "But why'd it tell me to go there? Seems stupid, if it wanted to be left to keep pulling pranks."
"It obviously wants something," Claire added, finally abandoning her pencil-chewing. Her eyes went up to Jesse, though the claim about copper and bullets was still ringing in her head. It just made her feel-off.
Shying away from Claire's look, Jesse nodded at Ben. "Think it could recognize there was something different about me? That it might know what I can do?"
"Your guess is as good as mine, man," Ben said, frowning slightly. He wasn't sure he liked how easy hunting had gotten with someone who could recreate anything simply by willing it into being. "We can just buy the bullets. They sell copper bullets."
Jesse's jaw tightened but he nodded. "Alright. Probably better that way. It's hard to get things right when I don't know them real well."
Ben's expression twisted into something closer to curiosity than distaste. So there was a method to it. That was slightly less unsettling. Can he recreate organic objects too? he thought absently.
"So uh," Ben muttered, a hand coming up to rub the back of his neck. "It's late, obviously. Shall we head out tomorrow?" Claire nodded quietly, rubbing her eyes with two pinching fingers, then closed her computer and scooted off the bed.
"I need to get the smell of chlorine off me," she muttered, mostly to herself, already peeling off the thin zip-up hoodie over her tank top. "Then I'll head out for food-think about what you want." And she disappeared into the bathroom.
Jesse saw Ben's eyes on her the whole way and couldn't help but grin. "You're a fucking perv, you know that?" he said as though it were a compliment.
Ben's face grew hot and he scowled, one hand coming up to shove Jesse in the shoulder. "Shut up."
Just giving a laugh, Jesse said, "Watching porn right out in the open when we could be back any minute? Kinky shit, mate. Almost like you wanted her to see you. You'll have to send me the link sometime."
It was very possible Ben's face would simply burn off, both from Jesse's laugh and the image of Claire looking at him like a deer caught in headlights. And it had taken so much longer than normal. "I hate you," he said flatly, wanting to curl up and die.
"Hey, don't blame me, I'm not the reason you gotta yank your chain," Jesse said, holding up his hands in defense. "I'm guessing angel girl could use a little something, too."
Ben flushed further, turning his eyes away from Jesse's face. Was that why Claire had raced off? Just the idea of it... No, no, no, no, abort! Abort! he thought furiously.
"God, I need a drink," he muttered sourly. Unfortunately, he'd emptied his flask two nights ago and they'd yet to stop by a liquor store. No doubt it would be closed by now anyway. He'd have to settle for beer, assuming Claire went to a store and not just through a drive-thru.
"Now that's something I can do in my sleep," Jesse said with a grin. "Get me a glass and I'll make the poison."
Ben's brows arched, but he very carefully pushed himself out of his chair and went to get a glass from the kitchen.
"So what, all I tell you is what's in it?"
"Basically. Consider me a bartender on speed," Jesse said, giving him a wink. Ben brought the glass to him, struggling to hold back an excited grin.
"Okay. So, uh..." Ben racked his brain, trying to remember the top shelf brands he'd picked up when he'd traded in his car for cash. "10 Cane, Pyrat XO Planters Gold Reserve, and uh... Crystal Lime Rums."
Jesse laughed. "Fancy works." He held up the glass, concentrating. There was hardly an alcohol out there he hadn't tried. After a thoughtful few seconds, the glass in his hand was full. He handed it over, looking supremely pleased.
Ben took it with hesitantly, which clearly showed on his face as he brought the glass to his lips. His eyes immediately widened as the flavor expanded on his palate. It was perfect.
"I take it back," Ben said after a sizable gulp. "You are my best friend."
Straightening, Jesse's grin widened, his eyes crinkled in pure pleasure and pride. After a beat, he took the glass back for a gulp of his own. "Oof. Thanks, mate, but I question your taste."
"This isn't a sipping drink, mate," Ben said, mimicking his accent. "This is a drink to get you smashed in a hurry. If I drink for fun, I drink Michelob Ultras."
"Ah, but I think if you're wanting to get in Claire's pants, you really should be giving this to her."
Ben took another deep gulp, then moved his eyes to the ceiling. "She's just a friend," he muttered.
"She already shot you down, eh?" Jesse reached over, tapping the glass to refill it.
"No, she's-" Ben started, then took another gulp. "I haven't- we're partners. It's a bad idea. And she's Catholic."
Jesse winced in sympathy. "Shit. What d'you do to get laid, mate?"
God, when was the last time he'd gotten laid? Ben couldn't even remember; his sole focus had been on hunting and trying to find his father. Any flirting he'd done had mostly been to get info on a case, not really to get a girl in his bed.
"Um."
"Oh mate." Jesse shook his head. He frowned in thought. They weren't going to do any more tonight after all... "Alright, once we got dinner and all that done, you and me are headed out to get you laid."
"Dude," Ben said around a snort. "My ribs are broken. I can't exactly pull out all the tricks when my ribs are broken. I'm off the market for at least six weeks." And truthfully, he wasn't sure he could just leave Claire alone.
"C'mon, if you were desperate enough to wank through the pain, you could stand a blowjob at least," Jesse scoffed.
Wank? Ben echoed in his head, his brows knitting before his face got hot. He'd never had a wing man before. It was such a normal thing to have. The world had gotten so strange now that he'd picked up partners.
"Pretty sure if I go cruisin' for chicks, I should offer them a favor or two in return. I'm not out to be a dick."
Jesse shrugged. "If we go cruisin' for a different kind of chick," he said, imitating Ben, "then I got plenty of cash and you wouldn't need to hurt a rib."
"What, hookers?" Ben sputtered, his eyes going a little wide.
Uncertainty crept into Jesse's expression. "Well, yeah. C'mon, don't tell me you've never paid for it."
"Never had to, man," Ben said with the slightest smirk. The idea that Jesse'd only slept with girls he had to pay made him feel better. Maybe he wasn't as suave as he pretended to be. "In case you weren't aware, I'm kind of a big deal."
"Says the man who can't remember when he last had sex," Jesse said, raising an eyebrow, though his face turned a little red. "And I didn't see your 'big deal,' only Claire got a look at that."
"Shut up," Ben said to the last part, then barrelled on. "Just because I don't go scoring chicks all the time doesn't mean I don't get offers. I'm just not-" he rubbed his forehead a little and took a deep pull from the glass. "I watched my mom get her heart crushed by a drifter. It put things in perspective."
That sobered up Jesse's expression completely. He'd had things put in perspective for him, too, though not by his mom. "That's the great thing about hookers," he pointed out. "Everyone gets what they want and no hearts get broken. Win all around."
Ben frowned thoughtfully. Jesse had a point. And it would be nice not to have to go manual for a change. But Claire... he started to think, then mentally shook the thought off. Is my partner and my friend. We're never gonna hook up. That's just how it's gotta be.
"Okay. You talked me into it." Ben paused, chewing the inside of his cheek viciously. "But so help me, if I catch something, I'm not suffering alone."
Jesse punched his shoulder with a grin. "Luckily, since the last time you got laid, they invented these things called 'condoms' so we should be good."
"Yeah, you got jokes," Ben snarked out. The sound of the shower turning off silenced him instantly.
"Gyros sound good?" he said, hoping to change the subject. He mentally ran through a list of all the foods he could think of that wouldn't unsettle his stomach or make him smell gross, but unfortunately the list was rather short and he deeply feared nerves would destroy all his other chances. Of course, the problem was, would there even be gyros in the Dells at 10:30 at night.
"Yeah, sure, I'm good with anything," Jesse said with a shrug, walking over and sitting sprawled on a bed. He glanced at the bathroom door. "Claire doesn't eat meat, though."
"No, she does, she's just not a fan of sausage," Ben pointed out. "And if she could get away with getting something else, she does. Selective vegetarianism or lacto-ovo or... something, I dunno." He thought back to their little high-end dinner they'd shared back in Michigan and his face warmed slightly. "She had veal once." He paused. "And a maple-bacon donut. I remember."
Jesse raised an eyebrow. "Pretty specific for 'just a friend,'" he said with a sly smile.
Ben scrubbed his face with his hands anxiously. "We've been to five cities and slept in the same bed twice. I notice things. I notice things about you, too."
"Oh yeah? What've you noticed about me then?" he said, sitting up slightly.
The sudden challenge was enough to put a whole new flush in Ben's face. He sent a silent curse to his mother for inheriting the easiness to lose his cool that way.
"Well for one thing, you favor your left side when you're sleepin'," Ben mumbled, eyes everywhere else in the room rather than on his just then. "And some of your vowels go wide instead of tall, so you're not straight-up English or whatever it is you are; you moved there."
"Australian, and yeah," Jesse said, tilting his head to the side with a grin. "And you call me a creeper? Who's watching people while they sleep?"
"We had to make sure you were still breathing and weren't concussed," Ben said swiftly, eyes snapping back to him. Of course, Jesse had slept in the same room with them a second time after that, but Ben had been too drunk and doped up to really be paying attention and none of them had really slept. He remembered listening to the other man at one point when he drifted off for a few brief minutes and turning his head to look at Jesse's back.
What else... "You have a lot of tells. Like, when you're unhappy and thinking about it. Your jaw gets tight and you fidget." Ben smirked slightly. "Or maybe that's just how you always look."
Jesse felt his jaw tighten at that and he quickly loosened it. The bathroom door clicked open; Claire, looking a little pink in the face amid a cloud of jasmine smelling steam, was twisting her hair between her hands with a towel, another wrapped around her middle.
"Figure out what you want?" she asked them both, weaving toward her bag on the luggage rack. Ben felt his tongue swell up in his mouth as his eyes immediately started to track her. He didn't trust himself to say anything intelligent when she was right there and so exposed after she'd caught him in almost a similar state.
Watching Claire as well, Jesse didn't have quite as much trouble. "Ben was thinking gyros. Works for you?" Claire nodded, and slung a pair of jeans and a stretched-neck sweater over her arm.
"Should be a greasy place around somewhere," she commented quickly on her way back to the bathroom. Three weeks of partner-hood, and she was still forgetting that everything should be brought in with her before taking a shower. Claire was pointedly ignoring this particular time's bad timing.
Ben shifted painfully in his seat and forced his eyes up to the ceiling, counting the seconds until he finally heard the door shut. Definitely using the shower from now on, he thought to himself, reaching blindly for his drink and taking a deep pull from it. The effects were finally starting to kick in.
Jesse looked over at him with a grin, but Ben was looking away, so any vulgar gesture would go unappreciated. Instead he got up. "Can I use your computer?"
The words 'make your own' made it halfway to Ben's lips before they died. Instead he simply turned the computer toward Jesse, but not before suddenly turning it back and making a few quick clicks to delete some of the history out of his browser window. The last thing he wanted was to give Jesse ammo into how his brain worked.
Smirking slightly, Jesse didn't comment, just sitting down and getting to work. He had some entertainment to find for tonight.
Dan clicked off the television and chucked the remote to the other end of the couch as he stood up. His little studio apartment didn't really have much in the way of a bathroom, just a little stand-up shower, much to his continual disappointment. Some days, his body ached so much he would have loved nothing more than to soak in a hot tub until the water went cold, but it was all he could afford on his wages. Such was life.
It was just another average evening, save for the weirdness at work that kept creeping up in his thoughts. The two new employees and their questions had left him feeling anxious, and flashbacks to that brief moment in the lagoon the prior week plagued him for the rest of the day. His doctor hadn't mentioned any chemical reactions to his meds but he had given him a referral to a psychotherapist. Dan had sighed and stuck the paper into his back pocket, then forgot to take it out when he'd ran his washing. The paper had been reduced to pulp. He'd call his doctor in the morning and ask for the number again.
Maybe it was just stress. Stress made people hallucinate, didn't it? He'd never heard of it happening before, but surely he wasn't the first to have something like that happen to him. Work had been strange and money had been tight, it made sense that it was starting to get to him in the worst ways.
Dan flipped on his iPod dock on the bathroom counter and turned on the shower before starting to undress. With a quick hand test he slid in and shut the little glass door behind him, closing his eyes as he stuck his head under the showerhead. It only took moments for the water to drench his hair and make rivers down his back. He concentrated on the heat, willing it to ease the strain out of his muscles.
It took about ten minutes before Dan realized the water had started to come up to his ankles. Frowning, he opened his eyes and looked down. Had the drain plugged up again?
"Goddammit," he muttered, bending down to check it. The water was freezing. What the hell was going on? Standing, he tried to flip off the faucet.
But it wouldn't turn off. In fact, the water had also gone cold. Dan's eyes widened. Suddenly, the water pressure increased to the point where it hurt and Dan yelped, dodging out of the way and making for the door.
It didn't open. He tried it twice and seriously considered smashing through the glass. He could feel water swelling upward from the drain beneath his feet. By the time it was up to his chest, he was in a full panic and screaming:
"HELP! SOMEBODY, HELP!"
He kicked and banged at the glass door, but it didn't give. There was nothing strong enough in the shower to really do any damage. Dan's eyes flew around the space wildly. The gap at the top was too small for him to push himself through. He was trapped. In no time, the water came up over his head. He willed himself to float, to get up to the top and keep screaming.
But then there was a grip on his ankles, yanking him straight down. All light and sound disappeared. In the darkness, he heard the eerie laughter from the water park.
Out of the darkness, he saw her milk white hair and skin, then her eyes opened. Any scream was choked off by water flooding into his lungs.
The GTO eased to a stop in front of a plain brick apartment complex, building number four. Claire, who had donned the sleek gray and charcoal suit commonly used for impersonating professionals, took time for a long breath, and looked at Jesse. Pretending to be some college drop-out lifeguard was one thing-this was another entirely.
"Okay, so..." She rolled her lips, trying to figure out the best way to go about this when the idea struck her. Her eyebrows lifted simultaneously. "Can you-y'know," she made a sort of 'magical' hand gesture. "make a professional looking camera?"
"Um. One that can work?" he said, his eyes overly large. He hadn't worn a suit in...ever, and he had no idea how he was supposed to act, and it showed, at least-to Claire. She shook her head a little and stuffed her keys in the inner pocket of her blazer.
"One that looks and sounds like it works." She turned a glance out the driver's side window, watching the city detectives leave in exchange for the coroner and his intern, who disappeared inside the building. "Also, take off the jacket and tie."
"Yeah, I can probably do that," he said, shrugging off his jacket before dealing with the tie. Holding it in his hand, he concentrated a moment, until he was holding a basic SLR camera. "Alright. For me or you?"
Claire smirked faintly at him. "You want to be a corporate insurance adjuster?"
Jesse smiled back. "No thanks, I'll be the dumb grunt with the camera." She smiled a little easier, then slipped out of the car.
All it took was a quick run into the apartment leasing office and a few well practiced glances around to determine just what company she was supposed to be coming from. The complex's manager was already too flustered to notice anything amiss, besides the dead tenant in 403B. On the way to the apartment itself, Claire 'suggested' that Jesse just 'take as many pictures' as possible, and keep an eye and ear out for anything of use. There wasn't really a training protocol for these things, and she couldn't help but feel awkward about it. And nervous.
Inside, the coroner and his underling stooped over a newly closed body bag. Jesse froze where he stood, staring down. It took a nudge from Claire for him to snap out of it and raise the camera.
"Don't mind us; Helen Cartwright with Almstead Inc." Claire smiled her business smile down at the coroner. "Can I get the quick version, or you gonna make me wait for the report?"
"Can I see your credentials, Ms. Cartwright?" The coroner asked, brows furrowed. Claire didn't miss a beat, though in her head, she felt everything below her neck tighten.
She looked at Jesse. "Kyle, would you mind?"
Jesse stared at her. "Oh. Oh, right," he said grabbing for his wallet. He flipped it open, revealing what was some kind of identification-looking paper. His voice took on a firmer cadence as he said, "There's all the information you need."
The coroner leaned in to look at the paper, then up at Jesse with the barest hint of a frown. He ran a hand over the back of his neck and sighed, then turned to look at his assistant before speaking:
"Victim drowned in the shower," he said at last. "Don't know how exactly until we get back to the lab and run a full autopsy, but from a quick look-over the skin was gray and the eyes were cloudy. We found silt residue on the shower tile as well, but we'll need to run a lab to see where it's from. Assuming it wasn't just washed off from a trip there or somethin', though why the hell anyone would go swimming outside at this time of year is beyond me."
Silt in the shower? Claire had already zeroed in on this call when it cracked over the police scanner as a drowning, but the details were, of course, not exactly advertised. This only confirmed it. She caught Jesse's eye and pointed casually toward the shower while she wrote things on a rather useless clip board, and glanced around their surroundings. Jesse started faking taking photos, leaning in close to check things out. There was a heavy smell in the shower that made his stomach roll.
That's when she caught the open medicine cabinet, and the orange prescription bottle inside. Claire looked back down to the coroner, stepping a bit out of their way. "Possible homicide?" It was possible to drown in a shower's bottom worth of water, but it was difficult without help.
"You'd have to ask Detective Hall about that," the coroner answered, giving a nudge toward the lone uniform-dressed man mulling about in the small space. "I just play mad scientist and get paid for it." Claire pushed a small, commiserative chuckle, but it didn't reach her eyes. She kept them busy by getting closer to the medicine cabinet to catch the name on the bottle, then headed with purpose toward the hallway.
"Well, thanks anyway," she sighed, jotting something with finality on her clipboard, then caught Jesse's eye and nodded toward the main room of the apartment. "We'll get the contact info from the manager after a few photos, then be out of your hair."
Moving ahead of her, Jesse faked photographing as he went along, not sure when he should stop. When he hit the living/bedroom/kitchen area, he glanced back at Claire. She followed behind him shortly, but stopped with a look at a picture on the cheap IKEA entertainment center.
She said nothing, only stared for a moment, and ignored the sick twist in her stomach that came with realizations of this nature. Claire looked over her shoulder to Jesse, then nodded solemnly at the photograph. There, smiling with his arm around a blue-eyed redhead, was the lifeguard from the resort break room.
Frowning slightly, Jesse followed her nod. Then his stomach dropped out. He stood stock-still for a while before rushing forward to snatch up the photo. He had to be sure, but he was stopped cold by Claire's hand on his wrist and a sharp warning in her eyes. The words Don't touch shaped by her lips, but remained quiet.
Jesse stopped, looking at her then back at the photo before lowering his hand. That guy in the body bag was the same guy they'd been talking with yesterday. The same one who'd made him feel sane again, the same one who'd seen what he saw. He couldn't help but wonder if he'd been given the same warning.
"Guess I got a couple days," he said quietly.
Ben stared blearily at the screen as he read through the fourth document he'd found. It was really a wonder that he hadn't permanently injured his eyes from having sat up so close so often.
"How are you feeling?" came the voice over the phone tucked up against his ear.
"Sore as hell," he replied. "But I'll be okay. I've got meds and I'm staying a couple weeks with a friend while I recover."
"I wish you'd come home. Matt could easily get you in to see one of his colleagues-"
"And what would they tell me that I haven't already heard from the doctors at the clinic?" Ben interrupted, his eyes turning off to the side in his frustration. "Mom, this stuff happens sometimes. I'm fine. It's not as bad as you'd think."
He could almost see his mother's skeptical look.
"I'm not trying to nag you, baby," she said after a moment, the tone in her voice shifting to another angle. "I just know you. You're not the type to just sit around and recover."
"Believe me, I don't really have a choice in the matter," he grumbled. "Even if I could move, I'm pretty sure my friend would have no problem tying me down."
"Ben, if this is some sort of sex thing-"
Ben cracked a smile, but interrupted her before she got too far. "It's not. Is Krysta there? Can I talk to her?"
"Found anything?" Jesse said, rushing up from nowhere. His voice was tense and he leaned over Ben's shoulder before he could answer. Ben jumped, then yelped as pain exploded across his nerve endings.
"Ben? Ben, are you all right?"
"Yeah mom, sorry, I sat up too fast," he said through gritted teeth, glaring at Jesse over his shoulder before he shoved him lightly backward.
"Krysta's over at Amber's house, but I'll tell her you asked for her."
"'Kay." Ben gestured at the screen and carefully slid out of the chair. Jesse sat, trying to read what Ben had up, but his heart was racing too face. His eyes couldn't focus on one place at a time.
"Make sure you keep alternating hot and cold. It'll help you heal faster."
"Yes, mom. I gotta go, pizza's here. Love you."
As soon as Ben hung up, Jesse turned around to face him. "Summarize, alright? If I wanted to read all this I'd've done it myself."
"So get this: the resort is damming up a section of the river so they can turn it into a rapids ride," Ben explained, shoving the phone into his pocket. "They started working on it two weeks ago." He paused, realizing Claire was missing. "Where's Claire?"
"In the car," Jesse said with a shrug. "So you think that's why it's going all Samara on people's asses? Getting, what, revenge?"
"Well, I'd certainly be pissed if someone had put the equivalent of a wall through the middle of my house and told me only this much of it was mine now," Ben answered, his eyes on the door with a frown before he turned back to Jesse again. Had she told him to go ahead because she didn't want to come into the hotel room first? His face heated up a little in embarrassment. I'm never gonna live this down, he thought mournfully, but was interrupted by a text message alert on his phone. He tugged it out and looked down at the message:
He with you? Never gonna get used to the Houdini stunts.
Ben felt his lips twist as he texted back:
Bouncing around like a bee on crack, yeah. ETA?
Jesse watched Ben with a frown. "Yeah, but would you go and drown some lifeguard because of it?" He felt his hand give a quake and he pushed himself to his feet. "I gotta piss."
Ben hummed in answer as his phone buzzed again with Claire's answer:
10 min
Once again he pocketed it, then moved to lean back against the wall sharing the door.
"It doesn't know who's in charge. Monsters aren't exactly known for being rational," Ben explained. "What'd you guys find out from that call-in?"
Standing at the toilet, Jesse stared at the water, finding it oddly unnerving. Why'd they have to fill toilets up so high?
"The guy was drowned in his shower," he said, overly loud. "River silt on the tile, so two guesses who." After a pause, he added, "It was the lifeguard we talked to. The one who'd seen her a few days ago."
Jesse zipped up; his bladder might be bursting but he couldn't get anything out.
Ben winced on the other end of the door, but for the first time it wasn't because of the ache in his ribs. That was not a good sign and he could hear the anxiety in that beat of silence between Jesse's words.
"Don't worry, man," Ben said through the door with conviction. "We'll fix this. You're gonna be okay."
Jesse opened the door. "Fuck yeah, we are," he said, his jaw set. "Gonna go down to the lake right now and empty a round into its head."
"Yeah, 'cuz it's just gonna be there on the other side of the door waiting for trick-or-treaters," Ben said flatly. "We don't even know where its lair is. It could literally be anywhere."
"It told me to go to the Source, I'm going to the Source," Jesse said stubbornly. "If it's not there, I'll worry about that then."
"Jess, c'mon," Ben reasoned. "Don't be stupid. We bust this dam open, we might not even have to go after it. Weren't you the one sayin' before that we should just get the hell out of here? No need to go killin' somethin' if we fix the problem."
"This thing followed him home," Jesse snapped. "It killed him when he was taking a fucking shower. I'm not going to bust a dam and hope for the best. Unless you wanna know what I smell like after never taking a shower again."
The room lock clicked when Claire swiped her key card and pushed inside and closed the door behind her. Jesse got a quick, slightly annoyed look before she started peeling off the blazer, and tossed it on the bed.
"Got the ammo?" Ben asked, carefully stepping around Jesse and moving over to Claire. She nodded and pulled a rattling cardboard box from her bag. "You would not believe the looks I got while getting those."
"Lucky for us we've got an unlimited supply now," Ben replied, casting a look over to Jesse. He knew without asking that the other man would load up and keep firing even after they'd run out of originals.
Jesse gave a try at a smile but wasn't really feeling it. He looked at Claire. "The resort built a dam on the thing's river, that's why it's getting revenge, Ben wants to bust the dam and make it happy instead of going after it," he summed up. "I'm ready for the gun, personally."
Claire's brows furrowed slightly when she glanced between the two of them, lingering on Jesse. The fact that he'd jump so quickly to that 'simple' plan of action wasn't necessarily surprising, but she had to admit, she was slightly unnerved. The thing had threatened him, and he was obviously not used to that-not like she and Ben.
"At least let me see if there's a history of deaths like this before we go putting a bullet in its melon," Ben argued. "Far as we know, this is the first and only death. Please."
Scowling, Jesse shoved his hands in his pockets. If it was one of them, they wouldn't be taking this so lightly. He took a deep breath, letting it out slow. "What if we go there to talk to it? It's got a reason for telling me to go there. Find out what it really wants," he said as evenly as he could manage.
Ben looked at him with arched brows, studying his face, then narrowed his eyes slightly at him. After the scene Jesse pulled only moments ago, he somehow doubted the other man would try at the rational angle. The only way he could guarantee the thing didn't get shot would be to go with him, but he couldn't. His memory flashed back to Claire and their first hunt together. Claire, who had a shapeshifter wearing her face and barely hesitated putting a knife into her heart. He swallowed, then threw his hands out before letting them drop to his sides.
"Yeah, okay," he said at last. Claire's lips pressed together in a tell of apprehension, but she pushed it from her mind in order to focus.
He'd expected more of a fight, but Jesse would take it. He turned to Claire. "You coming or not?"
She nodded at him, then met Ben's eyes, silent for a beat. "Keep looking?" she finally said. "It's a good drive..." and if I can avoid being in a boat, that'd be great.
"Yeah," Ben said with a nod, his face pulled downward with a frown. "Be careful, okay? Both of you."
"At least we'll see it coming," Jesse said, heading for the door.
Claire stood at the steps of an old wooden dock at the edge of the marina parking lot, giving the weathered sign a good staring at: 'Boat Rental,' followed by a number of other services and prices taunted an old irrational fear that she was not looking forward to facing. She sighed silently, and looked at Jesse.
"Looks like we have two hours."
Giving an irritated snort, Jesse started off down the shoreline. "We weren't that deep when it grabbed me. Maybe we can get its attention from here," he said, stopping to toe off his shoes and pull off his socks. He then started rolling up his pant cuffs. Claire folded her arms against the deepening chill, and the breeze that was coming off the lake. That water looked frigid...
Thankfully this wasn't exactly peak time for people wandering around the lake. Barely Springtime, and a few short hours to dusk, most fishermen and recreational boaters had better things to do. Still, as she stepped up to his side with a careful visual sweep of the area, Claire couldn't help but wonder just what he thought he was going to do. She'd never encountered one of these things before... 'winging it' just wasn't her favorite MO.
Jesse hissed as he stepped up to the edge of the water; it felt like ice. Just one more reason to hate this thing.
"Don't worry if it grabs me," he said back at Claire, taking a step in. "I can get out of it if I got to." Claire didn't exactly look convinced.
"And then what?"
He shrugged. "Then we shoot it. I can do it if you want," he said, holding out a hand.
Shoot it? Her head tipped deep toward one shoulder and stayed there, her brows furrowed, but then looked out over the lake. Something about giving him her gun didn't fill her with confidence, but she reached into her jacket and stepped into the water-shoes and all- to hand it over. "You realize this thing can basically turn into water, right?"
"Yeah, well don't drink any then," he said, taking the gun with an attempt at a smile. "It let me go once. Maybe it'll just say it's piece and we'll be done with it." Claire snorted and suppressed a shiver that came from the slow seepage of cold water into her boots.
"Cause that happens all the time..." she said more to herself than anything.
"Well, maybe I'll have beginner's luck again?" He smiled for real before wading further. "Hey!" he called out across the water. "I'm here! Rude to keep me waiting!"
There was silence, save for the sounds of spring birds and wind on water. Claire's fingers flexed into each other, keeping warm. She supposed this should feel silly-but her instincts were still vibrating her nerves.
Then suddenly even the birds weren't chirping anymore. Faster than what should have been possible, Claire felt two hands tighten like vices along the ankles of her boots and yank her backwards toward the lake, pulling hard. She barely got out a shriek before freezing water cut through her clothes and stabbed her with a thousand pins. Claire thrashed against the grip, but it only tightened... and her screams were cut off by murky lake water as her head disappeared below the surface.
Jesse jerked around only to almost stumble as Claire sped past him under the shallow water. He dove forward with a yell, grabbing for her, but she was already too far. Shoving to his feet, he tried to run after her, but the water was like frozen molasses, holding him back.
"Claire! Claire!" he screamed, up to his chest. "Bring her back, you bitch! What do you want?" Taking a panicked breath, he ducked his head underwater to yell. "What do you want?"
But his screams went unanswered. Deep beneath the lake's surface, the Mannegishi had wrapped herself around Claire's body, pressing her face mere inches away from hers as she stared into eyes. There was no laughter like Jesse and Dan the lifeguard had mentioned; only the deep muting silence of the water.
"You blocked my river," an echoing voice rang in Claire's ear. "The fish won't come, the water grows black, it's your fault."
In the murk and gloom, the overly-large eyes and ghastly white figure was all Claire could focus on, save that and the crushing pressure promised on her lungs. It gripped her from legs to shoulders like a tangle of kelp, unfazed by her panicking efforts for freedom. Her heart slammed against its cage and what little air remained in her chest burned like acid-and the longer it went on, all Claire could think was God, please, not now.
"I'll die here. I can never leave for long, forever. I have been here since the Glacier carved through the land, but you ruined it." The Mannegishi exposed her teeth, feral and furious. "You with your poison and your walls and your waste. You should suffer as I have suffered." Her grip tightened exponentially, as though she was determined to wring the remaining air out of Claire's lungs.
Break the dam! Her desperate scream bubbled out from her throat toward the surface; her bones creaked and ground together in the grip and the cold ceased to matter-all she knew was the spirit's voice, and pain.
One ring, two, three... Ben paced around the room wildly, his free hand continuously moving up through the back of his hair.
"It's Claire-"
"Dammit!"
"Leave me somethin' go-"
Three other deaths had been reported within hours of the lifeguard's death, all with similar circumstances. One person in the bathtub, another found face down in a sink full of dishes, the last in a fucking car wash. He hung up and tried back again, hoping to God that they simply had the radio up too loud. It had been the third call, though, and there was still no answer.
"Jesus Christ, Claire, answer the damn phone!" he snarled into the empty room.
Jesse appeared at his shoulder, rivulets running down his body and pooling on the carpet around his soggy shoes. "It got her!" he said, his voice hitching.
Ben felt his heart slam into his ribs and his stomach bottom out.
"AND YOU LEFT HER THERE!" he roared, panic and rage screaming through his body. Ben lunged at him, grabbing him forcefully by the shirt, completely blind to his own pain. "YOU GET HER! YOU BRING HER BACK!"
"It took her into the lake!" Jesse said helplessly. "I tried to make it come back, to tell me what to do, but it didn't come back!"
"THEN EMPTY THE FUCKING LAKE IF YOU HAVE TO!" Ben shouted, shaking him like a rag doll before shoving him backward and pushing his hands forcefully through his own hair. Oh god, oh god, oh god-! "MOVE IT!" he added explosively when the other man remained frozen in place.
"H-how? I don't know what to do!"
Every second that Jesse floundered was a second robbed from Claire. She might already be dead. Ben quaked with the thought. "You're fucking Magneto, you idiot!" Ben hollered. "Blow up the fucking dam! Make the river move! JUST DON'T STAND THERE AND LET HER DIE!"
Jesse stared at him with wide eyes before disappearing, popping up near the dam that Ben had pointed out earlier. He was shaking from the terror and cold but there wasn't time to hesitate. He hadn't done anything close to this since he was eleven, but there was no way he was failing today.
Clenching his fists, he let the terror and anger rage through him. His jaw clenched and his brows drew down tight. The ground began to shake. Faster, c'mon, c'mon! He could feel warmth trickling downward from his nose. There was a creak, then a massive crack as the dam split down the center and water came rushing forward.
Jesse didn't stop. Running along the bank, he started wading in. "You got what you want! Give her back! Let her go!"
Claire broke the surface of the lake with the hardest breath she'd ever taken in her life. Sweet, cold air still felt like lava forced down her throat, and her brain felt boiled in her own blood-but she was breathing. Jesse waded straight for her, nearly falling in his rush.
For the briefest moment, a silvery shape appeared in the water, rapidly swimming off in the direction of the now-flowing water. Jesse's eyes snapped to it in an instant, the relief washing away in anger. He snatched the gun from his belt and fired, fired, fired until the clip was empty and the gun just clicked in his hand. An inhuman screech sliced through the air as the creature briefly broke the water, then disappeared beneath the dark waves again.
Claire barely registered the gunfire. Exhaustion and lack of oxygen had drained her muscles to the point of uselessness, and anything left was very quickly sapped away by the cold. Weakened instincts curled her fingertips into the fabric of Jesse's shirt. The shivering alone was going to break her apart. Jesse pulled her close, tucking the gun back into his belt.
"I got you, Claire," he said quietly, his hand coming under her knees to lift her tight against him. "You're gonna be alright."
She got heavier as they got closer to shore but he didn't put her down.
"What happened?" Claire croaked out weakly through the chatter of her teeth.
"It got you, but I got you back," Jesse said, fighting his own shivering. Reaching the shore, he set her down gently. "One sec."
Gathering some of the fallen leaves that had survived the winter, he shook them out into a fuzzy, brown, and most importantly, dry blanket. He hurried back to Claire, wrapping her up. "Did you see it? Did it say anything to you?" She nodded and closed her eyes, trying to force the involuntary shuddering down, along with the image.
"It was pissed," she paraphrased flatly, pulling the blanket around her. Claire met his eyes, and hoped they would convey her lack of interest in reliving the event. "What did you do?" Her sentence cut off by a thick, wet cough hidden behind her palm. It made her eyes water.
She looked so frail, so wholly unlike the Claire he was used to. He lifted her up again. He'd never popped out with someone before and now wasn't the time to test it, so they had a long walk back to the car ahead of them. "I broke the dam, holding its river back. And then I shot it." He surprised himself with how little remorse he felt.
She allowed herself to be picked up for the sheer absence of strength anywhere, every scrap of Claire's energy was going toward breathing and keeping warm. She could feel him shift and walk under her, hear his words with a slight echo-thanks to the water in her ears. But something tightened her bracing grip on his shoulder, though she couldn't lift her cheek from the other.
Broke the dam. That explained her sudden release, but at what cost? She wanted to force the thought from her mind-the elation from escaping death was starting to settle in. Claire couldn't handle that heaviness on her soul just yet.
"Good job," she uttered, and let her eyes close again, finding an unexpected but welcome comfort in the sound of Jesse's heart under her ear. She just wanted to be away from the water, warm and alive. She wanted to see Ben.
He felt a pang of pride at the words but just nodded, concentrating on his steps. They hurt at first but his bare feet quickly grew numb in the cold. When they reached the parking lot, only one other car was there, and it looked like the driver was already on the docks. Jesse set her down by the passenger door; no way he could open it while still holding her.
"Y'should give Ben a call while I drive," he said through a shiver.
Sleeping was always going to be a problem, Ben noticed. He could either seriously dope up on drugs and crash, risking the grogginess the next day; or he could drink himself into a stupor, and risk the hangover. There was no real middle. He didn't like either option, but he also didn't like the pain, and what if there was an emergency in the middle of the night? Both options left him unable to fight.
So he didn't overdo anything. He took two pills and enough booze to make his head swim a little, then tried to sleep. It worked, but his hyper-awareness of the bed not too far away from him kept him from totally dropping out. Claire was still awake.
"Hey," he whispered into the dark, hoping that Jesse was asleep or at the very least not paying too much attention.
Nightmares had always been a part of Claire's life. There came a point in their level of experience that nightly disturbances were to be expected. She let them come, endured them, and moved on-normally. Recently, the visions seemed more unrelenting than usual, or maybe there were parts of Claire's subconscious that were worming their way to the surface, jarred by the changes brought into her life.
Either way, sleep seemed a far reach tonight. She recognized that something had to be dealt with, faced, or otherwise worked out for her mind to settle, unfortunately her mind was not settled enough to focus on that goal.
She turned her head toward Ben's soft call, giving him a sleepy look that said everything that was looking right back at her. Claire sighed through her nose, deflating her chest under the cheap blanket.
"Hey."
"Wanna sit on the balcony?" he offered in the same hushed voice. Her eyes flicked from him toward the sliding doors, and the balcony overlooking the resorts closed outdoor pool. Then moved back to him, a faint twist on her lips.
"It'll be cold..." but her tone suggested she was fine with that.
"Grab a blanket, then," he offered, already starting the slow process of sitting back up so he could slide off the bed.
The temperature outside was just barely above freezing, and nearly brought a sudden swear out of Claire's lips when it hit her, still warm from the bed. The balcony was bare of any furniture, since the resort hadn't put out the accommodations for summer yet, leaving just a wooden rail, about chest high, to lean on. She shivered once, then forced the natural sensation down into her core, but it still shook her breath.
Ben slid right up next to her the moment he shut the door silently behind him, moving so that the blanket draped around both their frames. Without even the slightest hesitation, his arm settled gently around her waist. Claire's chin twitched in his direction, her lips touched by a soft smile.
"Talk to me," he murmured. She huffed lightly, and looked out over the black Wisconsin night.
"No more lakes for a while?"
"Agreed," he replied, his lips curving upward briefly. He gave her side a light squeeze, silently encouraging her to keep talking. The squeeze was soft enough not to make much of a difference, but it still tightened her breath a little. She made up for it with one that was deeper-than-normal and leaned closer, sharing warmth.
"So much for a little vacation," she looked up over her shoulder at him, her chin lifted for the height difference between them. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she realized consciously how much taller he was. "Hope you got some R&R, though I'm not sure how..."
"No such thing in our line of work," he said quietly. He might have had a chance to lie down, and Jesse might've shown him a crazy good time that first night, but when it came down to the monster and the madness, he'd never felt so stressed and upset in all the years he'd been hunting. He hadn't been able to do anything. It was terrifying.
"From now on, I plan the vacations," he added as the memories of the night he sold his car slowly returned to him. Claire smiled tiredly, but felt a bit warmer for it.
"Deal." She leaned a bit into him and closed her eyes. The comfort with his presence was growing less alien as time went on-even if it came with the occasional spike of awkwardness. This, though, was possibly the most comfortable she'd been in several days, even out in the cold. The silence stretched on comfortably between them for a few moments before Ben spoke up again.
"You gonna be okay?" he asked gently.
Her eyes opened again, only to turn up at him quizzically, though the look that he returned made her chest constrict, and she didn't feel so confident. If she was able to be figured out by anyone, Claire figured it would've been him.
"God willing," she answered quietly. I feel lost, she said in her head. His arm squeezed her lightly again. Obviously she didn't want to talk about what had happened, and he wasn't going to force her. He just wanted to let her know that he was there.
"I mean, I've lived through worse, right?" Claire felt the need to add that for her own benefit-the 'it could always be worse' ploy often worked, but for some reason this all felt, somehow different. She shook her head and pushed back a few blond flyaways that stuck to her cheeks with the wind. Had she lived through worse, though? Didn't feel like it at the time.
Claire went quiet for another moment, turning her thoughts inward. Remembering everything that went through her head when her lungs felt like they were being burned away by acid in need of another breath. The thing had held her there, in that state, for longer than should've been natural. She could remember with sick clarity as it forced air into her lungs, then wrung her out again until she screamed and the water invaded her. It felt like eternity. Suddenly, Claire's eyes stung, and her face tightened.
Ben felt Claire slowly tensing up and frowned, turning his head to look at her.
"Hey," he murmured, turning her gently toward him and looking down at her in concern. "Hey, it's okay. I'm here. We're all okay." She looked up at him with sharp, watery eyes, fighting the flood, the sting and the crystal-clear realization that she'd come to while at the brink of oblivion. The memory of his similar experience - with her as it's witness - returned to her, as well as the pain that came with it.
"How many close calls have you had?" She asked it honestly, though her voice barely cracked a whisper.
"Too many," he said without even a pause. "Especially when I started out, and most of 'em because I hadn't researched enough first. But that's the nature of the beast, y'know?" He moved a hand up to sweep the hair out of her face. "You forget you're made of glass when you're in it to win it." She nodded knowingly, commiserating with him without so many words, but was unable to hold his gaze in that moment when he brushed her hair back.
"I don't remember how many times I've prepared myself to die." Just saying those words, Claire felt the burn back in her chest, and it sapped away a lot of the strength it took just to make them verbal. And it's always been the same, until now, she added in her head, but didn't have the breath for it. She brought her eyes back to his face. Ben swallowed hard, caught up in her gaze and the weight of the words. He knew right then she needed him to reassure her, to say something to lift her out of the darkness.
"You can stop any time," he said slowly. "But could you? Knowing there's people out there who need to be saved?"
Her lips pressed together hard, and she shook her head faintly. She could never abandon her path, but stopping wasn't the question, even in her internal chaos and fear. "Before-it'd been easy. Terrifying, but I was always able to accept it. This time," Claire felt like her stomach was tying itself in knots-a form of fear itself, born by this conversation. But it'd been started, and there's no way she would stop now. She was just finding it near impossible to shape the words.
Ben felt the energy shifting between them like static electricity or magnets. Something scientific. His brain had started to malfunction, that much was certain. Was she going to say what he thought she was going to say? Did he want her to say it? He visibly swallowed, looking back and forth between her eyes.
"I know," he said at last, his mouth a little dry. "Me, too." He'd felt it back in the vampire nest, on that cusp between life and death. Ben still felt it. It had been the thing that kept him fighting, even when the pain was so great he could hardly see through it. The faded memories started returning to him in his panic for Claire's life when Jesse had abandoned him in the room, knowing she was drowning and that he could do nothing to stop it.
Four words. Four, simple words, he'd spoken and somehow made sense of everything the chaos in her head wouldn't let her. Claire could read it like a script in the honesty of his eyes. Again, she felt the shake in her chest and found her hands lift from her sides and very gently cling to the sides of his shirt at each hip. She could accept death and martyrdom before, when her mother was dead and she was chasing the ghost of her father, when no ties kept her tethered to a mortal life of servitude. But now it was different-and that realization brought with it a whole new set of fears.
Ben swallowed hard again, his heart racing, the sound rushing up in his ears so that he could hardly even hear himself think. Not that there was much to think about, really. What was happening now was instinct. Just as he started to lean in though, a thought finally formed in his head: She's scared. This is a hallelujah moment. She's reaching out because she's scared, not because she wants you to kiss her, you idiot.
He licked his lips and sighed, pressing his forehead lightly into hers.
"I'm always gonna be here, all right?" he vowed. "I promise."
This, it was this that she was afraid to leave behind; that she could feel her indoctrinated system of faith wavering for. This new degree of closeness amplified every strong connection and feeling that brought Claire to her realization, and she was struck dumb with the sheer potency. She'd visualized moments like this since meeting him, but not consciously-not always-but the weight of his brow against hers and the subtle scent she recognized on a cellular level enveloped her completely.
She closed her eyes and forced a slow, shaky sigh. She wanted to kiss him, and didn't banish the thought immediately. It lingered and pricked nerves behind her jaw, which tightened in a swallow. The memory of her desperateness under the lake was the only catalyst she needed. Claire tilted her chin, her movements choppy and pensive. The touch of his nose against hers pricked another delicate nerve that held her breath tight, but it was nothing to the electricity sparked when her lips brushed his.
It was only brief, chaste pressure, but it exploded along Ben's synapses, sending a shiver through him. This wasn't a dream. He could smell her shampoo, and that subtle note that was all her, filing away with every other sensation - the texture of her hair against his cheek, the softness of her lips, the heat from her body and her breath. His dreams had never been able to recreate a body so perfectly, he knew that from experience. Feeling a flicker of boldness Ben moved a hand up into her hair, threading into the strands as he pressed a little closer.
Claire finally found breath when what little distance that was between them dissolved. She could feel him tense and breathe against her, the tentativeness in the hand that delved into her hair. Her heart pushed itself into her throat, but his acceptance and nearness went hand in hand with the bond they'd formed on top of her complicated, hidden desire. She kissed him again, more confidently, more inviting, and tightened her grip in his shirt, barely able to register caution for his injuries.
He felt the flit of her tongue against the seam of his lips and just like that, his brain switched gears. The hand in her hair shifted to the back of her head as he eagerly deepened the kiss, the taste of her mouth completing the file in his mind. Hallelujah moment or not he was, without a doubt, completely smitten by her. They had been drawn together by fate, he knew that now. This had always been meant to be. Every part of it felt right.
Until she pressed a little too enthusiastically against him. Then he was unable to stop from wincing and breaking away with a sharp inhale. Claire immediately let him go, though the sudden separation seemed to pull the last bit of air from her lungs.
"Sorry..." she breathed, and tried not to feel like her knees were made of marshmallow. Her eyes searched his face for reassurance that he was alright, but she couldn't help the way they kept returning to his lips. They were so warm...
"S'okay," he assured her in a similar tone, his hands sliding up to her face, each kiss punctuating his sentences. "If it weren't for my ribs, I'd probably crush you to me. And if this is a hallelujah moment, that's okay, too."
The subtle crack of humor made her smile against his lips, a laugh or two on her words. "Hallelujah moment?" She couldn't help but wonder what he meant by that. Claire leaned her cheek into his hand without realizing the action, and more than once had to struggle to keep her hands feather-light where they touched.
"Because of the close call," he clarified, kissing the tip of her nose. She wrinkled it by reflex, and couldn't keep her hand from wiggling between them to brush away the tickle-but she was still smiling. It was hard to imagine anything could properly wipe it away at that moment.
"Maybe a little..." Her cheeks felt warm under his hands with a heat that made up for her purposeful understatement. Claire pressed her brow and brushed his lips again. "Funny, the moments when we're the most honest."
Something inside Ben deflated a little, but he managed not to let it show on his face. Whatever happened would happen naturally; he wouldn't press his luck. Now that the boundaries had been blurred a little, though...
"Think you can sleep better now?" he asked her quietly.
Sleep? Her mind hadn't been able to turn itself off before this-now, Claire doubted she could even slow her thoughts, not for a while anyway. She brushed her hand on his jaw and then through his hair, her shoulders sagged slightly with her exhale. Claire closed her eyes.
"Maybe. If you stay with me."
The words instantly eased the disappointment straight out of him, and Ben leaned in to press his forehead against hers again, smiling.
"My bed or yours?" She smiled against his lips and shook her head delicately.
"Doesn't matter."
Ben smiled too, and without pulling away from her he steered them back through the glass door and toward his bed. It would only be sleeping, or possibly lying awake next to each other, but the most important fact was that it she'd always be next to him. That was all that really mattered.
