"Claire…" Elle and Claire lay wrapped in each other's arms in a tangle neither could decipher. Claire's alarm was buzzing snuggly into Claire's lower back where it had slid from her pillow sometime in the movement of last night. Her head was nuzzled under Elle's chin, her lips lightly exhaling dainty breath onto Elle's chest, making Elle wish the stupid alarm didn't have to go off. She wrestled her arm out from under Claire's stomach, then realizing how stiff it was she grimaced and rolled it around slowly. Lifting her head she eyed the forgotten half of the bed trying to locate the source of the vibrations. Seeing the small light radiating from the exposed lower back of her girlfriend, she slid her fingers over the skin sensually before snatching the cell phone and turning the alarm off. Claire stirred and smiled, leaning her body further into Elle's and keeping her lips on the girl's chest.

"Mmm, what a wonderful way to wake up…" Claire sighed as she tightened their intertwined legs and shut her eyes, prepared to go back to sleep. Elle groggily chuckled and kissed Claire's head, raising a tired hand to hold the younger girl's head in place, loving the youthful lips against her skin.

"Baby, it's time to get up…" Elle purred into Claire's hair, running her nails over Claire's scalp. Claire shivered at the sensation and sighed before slowly sitting up and extracting herself from Elle's web of warmth.

"Oh no," Claire pouted adorably as she groaned with her eyes closed, immediately dissatisfied at how cold it was without the older woman by her side. Elle felt it too; she curled up and watched Claire doing exactly what she wasn't supposed to be doing: staying.

"Claaaairrrrre, seriouslyyyyy…" Elle whined. She opened her eyes with determination and sat up. Claire's eyes slowly opened to see Elle in front of her, raising a hand to her cheek and letting the backs of her fingers stroke it tenderly.

"We can't get caught, beautiful. You need to go back to your room. You can catch almost 3 full hours of sleep if you go now." Claire loved the way Elle's whisper sounded in the morning—like a mixture of care and rasp. She's always so sexy. Claire raised a hand to her face and rubbed the sleep at her eye as she nodded.

"Mmk baby…" Claire lazily kicked the covers off of her body and swung her feet over the side of the bed. Elle leaned forward and grabbed her arm just as she was about to get off. Claire jerked to a stop and turned a curious eye back to Elle. Elle fought to keep her focus as her body begged her to fall back asleep.

"I just want you to know that the only reason I even remotely care about going on a dangerous mission today is because of you." Claire remained rooted as a small smile twitched its way onto her features. Elle smiled back and continued after licking her lips, "And if I ever feel like just giving up if it gets too hard or if I need any kind of motivation, I want you to know it's your laugh that I'll fight to hear one more time." Claire blushed as did Elle, each loving how crazy they were about the other. Claire took a step forward and bent over the bed, kissing Elle sweet and deep. Leaning her head against the blonde's she whispered, "I'll miss you, angel. Be safe for me." Giving her one last kiss on the cheek Claire stood straight again and waved goodbye once she quietly opened the door. Elle waved back before the last trace of tan skin disappeared. Sighing her smile faltered to a frown. What if something does happen? What if I never see Claire again? Shaking her head she swore to herself she would remain focused and not dwell on such negative thoughts. Besides, her body was still thrumming from the adrenaline of being close to Claire. Closing her eyes she allowed herself to softly drift back to sleep; the calm before the storm.

**

Claire twirled a strand of hair around her finger as she and Sandra dropped off Lyle at a different school.

"Bye, Honey! Don't forget I can check what you're buying yourself for lunch!" Claire chuckled at the embarrassed look Lyle threw their mother as he hopped out of the van and slammed the door shut. Sandra smiled at his retreating form putting the car back in drive.

"You kids, I swear. Just yesterday I was putting diapers on both of you!" Claire smirked at her mother's remark and rolled her eyes.

"With Lyle that's probably a true statement." Sandra gave a pointed look at Claire and then smiled, the two of them laughing together. It got quiet after that with tension in the air. Claire's heart was beating faster than she expected it would and she wondered why she was so nervous to tell her mother about her and Elle. Before it could get any harder for either of them Sandra spoke.

"Not that I don't love taking you to school, Claire, but I did it because I thought that you might have something to talk to me about. Was I right in assuming that?" She momentarily stole glances at her daughter's nervous hands twitching and fumbling in her lap while driving. Claire held her breath before sighing in defeat. Why couldn't she just say it? Sandra nodded and took one hand off of the wheel allowing her knee to replace it. She covered hers with Claire's in the smaller woman's lap comfortingly.

"Sweetheart you can tell me anything and I'll always love you. You're my little girl. But, if it's too hard I can wait." At such a sweet comment Claire tried again to open her mouth and tell her mother, but for some reason all she could get out were little squeaks. Frustrated, she sighed heavily and felt her chest swelling with so much emotion she began to cry angrily. Sandra immediately became worried and placed her hand on Claire's shoulder.

"Honey, what's wrong?! Is it that bad? Claire, honey, you're scaring me!" Claire took in choppy breaths as she shook her head. She tried desperately to get something out before she worried her mother to death.

"No, Mom, it's not but I…I'm so sorry I wish I could just tell you but it's killing me and I don't know why it's so hard!" Claire's face was pink with tears and sniffles. Sandra thought about it and decided maybe it would be easier to guess for her daughter.

"Does it have to do…with Elle?" Claire nodded as another tear fell, the anxiety rising in her throat and threatening to come out all over again at any moment. Still, she couldn't figure out where all of these feelings came from. She honestly hadn't expected it to go like this at all. Sandra squeezed Claire's shoulder and took a deep breath in, hoping she didn't make a fool of herself if she was wrong.

"You two care about each other, right?" Claire nodded again, shaking a bit but calming down some at her Mom's cool demeanor about the subject. It still didn't ease the nerves tangling up her insides.

"A-A lot…" she added in a hiccup from lack of proper oxygen. Sandra stopped at a red light as the car was quiet again, but not the uncomfortable kind anymore. She looked over at Claire who was glaring a hole through the ground as if terrified to move. She raised her hand to brush some of Claire's honey blonde hair behind her ear.

"The two of you are together, aren't you?" She whispered. Claire's breathing froze before slowly nodding her head. Sandra sighed and stroked the back of Claire's head lovingly as she herself teared up.

"Oh, honey, I've known you were different for a long time. I was just waiting for you to trust me enough to tell me, and to admit it to yourself." Claire's eyes went wide as they turned to Sandra, watery and full.

"You…you knew? Before I did?" Sandra smiled and nodded, laughing at the irony as she covered her mouth with her hand.

"Oh, sweetheart, Elle is a nice girl. I like her and I see the way she treats you—like a little princess. And I see how happy you both make each other. What more could a mother ask for?" Claire smiled and laughed in disbelief, crying for a complete different reason. She unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned over the console, engulfing her mother in a huge hug smiling into her dry curls.

"I love you so much, Mom!" Sandra heard several honks behind her and they both laughed and separated, each with red eyes and smiles.

"I love you too, baby." She said as she sped off ignoring the honks and profanities being thrown her way. Sighing and putting her turn signal on she spoke what both of them were thinking.

"Let's just keep this to ourselves for the time being…"

**

Elle walked with Noah by her side. The two both in business suits looking as inconspicuous as possible pulled up across the street of the man's house they were going to be invading. Elle got a strange feeling in her gut looking at the home. Noah was already out of the van, locking and strapping things in place on different areas of his body. Craning his neck he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion seeing Elle's stone-like stature still sitting in the passenger's seat staring at the house in question.

"Elle?" Snapping out of it Elle jumped slightly, startled at the sudden calling from the back of the van. She turned in her seat to meet Noah's eyes.

"Well, come on. Strap up." She nodded, swallowing a lump in her throat. Noah eyed her suspiciously and helped her tighten some of the equipment across her back.

"You seem awfully different from when the two of us used to go out in the field. Are you feeling alright?" Noah asked as he was about to hand her a taser. The two noticed the absurdity of the gesture at the same time and let out a few nervous laughs. Once they both were ready Noah looked both ways and crossed the street. Elle took a deep breath before following him.

"He's really dangerous, Elle. Like you could be gone forever in an instant dangerous."

"Even I couldn't survive this you stupid, mean, dumb, rude…ugh!"

"Elle?" Elle jerked her eyes up with her arms in front of her, gun at the ready. She looked around noticing somehow during her memories she and Noah had snuck up to the front of the house at the front door. Noah eyed her warily.

"You really don't look so good. I'm going to knock, try the door, and when that doesn't work you blow the door down—got it?" Elle nodded as cold sweat stuck to her forehead. What's wrong with me? I've never been this nervous on a mission. Noah took a step forward and tried the door; locked. Deciding knocking was overrated; he turned to Elle and nodded, "Now." Elle squinted her eyes at the door as she let electricity zap right out of her palm and into the middle of the green wooden door. It quickly chipped and fried a hole large enough for Noah's arm to rip through and unlock the door. The two slammed the door open and stood with their guns pointed and their backs touching.

"Clear!"

"Clear!"

Noah touched Elle's arm with a far off expression. Elle eyed him and then realized what he was doing. A soft sob was filtering in from the room to their right. They looked at one another and nodded. Rushing up to the opposite end of the entry room they both yelled, "FREEZE!" An African American man looked up at them with tears streaming down his cheeks. Small balls of swirling black and violet gathered in his hands until he raised them in fear. Elle was quick to fire an intense gleaming ray of white hot electricity into him letting her fear get the best of her. The man let a scream run through his entire body. Once Elle realized what she was doing her eyes went wide in shock. Quickly she extinguished her fingers and rushed up to the man who was now spasming on the floor in front of them with parts of his clothes on fire. Noah leapt forward seeing and knowing something that Elle didn't.

"Elle, no, don't!"


dun dun dunnn..(: