When Eliot and Savannah got to her apartment, her mood hadn't improved much. He put his arms around her. "What if I made you something to eat?" he suggested. She shrugged. "What about macaroni and cheese?" She perked up. "I can even put mushrooms in it. And a little bacon. You need a little more protein."
"Mmmm, sounds good. How do you know I need more protein?"
"I didn't see any in your kitchen, and healthy people don't have episodes at the mention of having children with the men they're currently in a relationship with."
She pulled out of his hold. "I thought I blew the job."
"Is that why you screamed 'baby' like one jumped out and bit your ankle?" He was snickering. He found it all amusing.
"I don't wanna talk about it." She didn't seem as entertained.
"I think everyone sensed that." He turned her around and pulled her back to him. "Why are you freaking out? We just talked last night. What happened?"
"I can't talk about this right now." She stepped back, but stayed in arm's reach.
"We should probably talk about it before the next meeting."
"We have time. Mac and cheese first."
He sighed with a smile. "Alright. I'll get a courier to bring my good mushrooms and stuff." He pulled her back into a hug and said quietly into her ear, "Whatever it is, we'll deal with it, okay?" She nodded tentatively. He gave her a squeeze. "So let's talk about your movie collection."
She rubbed her face on his chest. "What about it?"
"It's an...interesting mix."
She looked up at him with slightly knitted brows, "What do you mean?" She stepped over to the crate and flipped through them. "I mean, who doesn't love Disney? Dani introduced me to the romantic stuff. She said I needed an idea of how this stuff works since I've had only one previous relationship and spent most of my teens as an isolated fugitive."
"The movies aren't usually realistic, especially not in the romance department," he muttered.
"I've noticed. I ran across the sci-fi stuff on my own. I mean, I asked Dani's opinion, and she recommended the comic book stuff."
He joined her by the crate and picked up one of DVDs. "What about this one?"
She took it from him. "This one's actually my favorite. Secondhand Lions. It's got a little bit of everything; sword fights, romance, and it's really funny."
"It's got Robert Duvall in it. I think I've seen it. I think I remember liking it. You wanna watch it?"
"Yeah."
It was surreal, sitting on a couch with his arms Savannah watching movies as she snuggled into his chest. The groceries arrived, and he made her mac and cheese. She ate it on his lap before cuddling back into his side to continue what became a movie marathon. It felt so normal, which wasn't normal, but it was nice. So nice.
Several movies in, it was almost time for bed. "So can I spend the night this time? Your scooter is still at the church. I'm going to have to pick you up tomorrow. Why waste the gas?"
"Because you called it a scooter. It's a moped."
He brushed her hair behind her ear. "Megan Locke would fall all over herself when it got back to her that I spent the night."
She entwined her fingers in his free hand. "She already loves me. She'll think it's cute if I wait."
He leaned in, putting his mouth next to her ear and nipped it. "What if I made you chocolate souffle?"
She snorted, "Sold. And we're watching another Disney movie."
He got up and started prepping the souffle. "Marvel is owned by Disney," he pointed out.
"And X-Men belongs to Marvel. Wolverine, it is!"
"Wolverine? Really?"
"He's my favorite!"
"Your favorite X-Man?"
"My favorite Marvel character. I mean, my cat's name is Logan."
"Interesting."
"You don't like Wolverine?" she accused.
"I love Wolverine. I just wouldn't guess that he would be your favorite."
She sidled up to the counter and swiped her finger through the souffle batter. "I relate to him. He was lied to and made a lab experiment."
He stopped stirring and considered her words. "Wow, I didn't think about it that way." He looked her over, winked, and kissed her, flicking his tongue over hers. "Who knew Wolverine could be so sexy?"
"The entire female population," she sneered.
"You got me there."
She slipped onto his side of the counter and pulled him in for a closer kiss. "I got you here too."
After some chocolatey making out in front of a sweaty Hugh Jackman, it was pretty late and officially time for bed. "It's probably a good thing you're staying. Maybe now I can get a good night's sleep," Savannah sighed.
She tried to hug him close, but Eliot held her away to look her in the eye. "What do you mean? You haven't been taking the sedatives Dani gave you?"
She stared at the floor. "I ran out a while ago."
"So have Dani order more."
She furrowed her brow and sighed heavily. "Eliot, I hate the sedatives."
"You told me you were okay with them!"
"In the extreme cases! Eliot, I'm not upset that you had to use them during recovery, but using them regularly, it's...miserable. The sleep feels...chemical. Like you're being drugged." Her voice started breaking. "It's not restful. And you can't escape the night terrors when you won't wake up."
"Savannah, you're shaking." He pulled her into a tight hug. "It's okay. I'm right here. I'll stay the whole night. Let's get you to bed, honey."
She twitched a little during the night, but slept pretty deeply for her full four hours. He made her pancakes in the morning, and cleaned up while she changed.
"Honey, I think we should head out. I mean, we're not in a hurry, but Parker and Hardison wanna talk about the next phase, so we need to head to the pub," Eliot called as he headed towards the bedroom almost an hour after breakfast.
He opened the door just in time to hear her cry, "No, don't come in! I'm not dressed yet!" But it was too late. She was dressed, but that wasn't the problem. Her pants were sitting next to her. Her leg stopped at a nub where the middle of her thigh would be. The rest of her leg was on the floor.
She stared at him, horrified and a deep shade of red. She covered her face with her hands as her eyes teared up. "Oh please no!"
"You have one leg," he muttered in disbelief.
