Nora POV

I settled in for a cup of coffee in Dylan's repair shop/ Diner. One half was an old fashion '80s diner; other half repair shop. I was sitting at the island, my coffee in hand, talking to one of the older waitresses. Her name was Alice. She looked as though she was in her 50s; she had light blond hair that was short and curly. Alice was sweet, chatting with me to pass the time while Dylan took a look at my car.

I had finished 3 cups of coffee when Dylan entered the diner; he was wiping his hands with a towel as he walked towards me. He sat on the seat next to me; Alice immediately passed him a bottle of water. He thanked her before turning to me.

"So you want the bad news, or the worse news?" He asked playfully.

"Most people want the better news first.." I told him.

"I've known you for about 3 hours now and I can already tell you're not like most people."

"Point taken. Bad news." I answered.

"Your transmission is busted. You need a whole new one." I groaned a whole transmission? It's not even my car! "The worse news is that your truck is a fairly old model, so we don't know if we can get our hands on a new one." Awesome. "We're going to call the makers and some local junkyards, maybe even check Craig's List, to see if we can find one that might fit it. They're not open today, so we'll have to call tomorrow." I sighed, so I'm stuck here for a few weeks at least.

I turned around looking out the long glass windows. The sun was setting just behind a row of large pine trees, beautiful shades of pinks and orange filled the sky. Just in front of the diner was a parking lot, filled with a few stray cars of the customers eating at the diner. I then noticed a tall, bulky figure crossing the parking lot; he took quick, long strides to the diner. Not too long later, He entered the diner with a Ding of the bell. The first thing that set off alarms in my head was he had his hood pulled over his head, creating a shadow over his face. The rest of him was covered head to toe.

My eyes followed him as he approached the counter. Alice looked up to him, "What can I get for you, sweetie?" the hooded man pulled his hand from his pocket; in his hand was a revolver. Alice gasped and jumped back. My eyes widened. The man pointed the gun straight at Alice's head; she held her hands up.

"Open the register, and give me the money." He demanded. Alice hesitated for a moment watching in horror. He then readied the gun. "Open. The. Register." He said gritting his teeth. Alice jumped into action. She hastily pulled keys out of her pocket, looking through them. Once she found the one she needed, she quickly tried to open the register's draw with 4-5 attempts she finally got it. Her hands shaking violently, trying impossibly to keep calm with a gun waved in her face.

I couldn't stand by any longer. I gently set my coffee cup down and inched off the stool. Trying not to make any sudden movements I inched around the back of the robber. I kept my eyes trained on him; He was focused on Alice who was hastily putting the money from the register in a bag. Silently, I started talking daring steps towards him. I stole at glance at Dylan whose eyes were wide with shock and horror; he saw me moving behind the robber; he sent pleading glances at me to stop, but said nothing in fear of attracting attention to me.

Suddenly, the robber whipped around and pointed the gun right at me; the barrel staring me straight in the eyes. Instinctively, my arm shot out knocking the gun from his hand; it fell onto the floor. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dylan dive for it. He swung at me with his other hand; I ducked out of the way of his swing. In one swift motion, I twisted his hand behind his back and pinned him to the ground. He tried to struggle and pull himself up, but I was stronger. I put my knee on the center of his back to keep him down. I glanced behind me, Dylan was standing behind me gun raised at the robber pinned below me.

Sirens blared from outside the Diner; there was a quick screech of tires before heavy footsteps entered the diner.

"Police!" the voice called. I looked up; 3 guys in brown uniforms held guns pointed at me. I lifted my hands up slowly and moved off of the robber. Slowly, I got up and took a step back. The cops moved in, pulling his hood down, revealing a shaved head, and handcuffing him. They then pulled him up and escorted him out. One cop remained who took the gun from Dylan and slipped it in a plastic bag. He then began to question Alice.

"Oh dear, he just came in waving a gun at me, wanting money. If it wasn't for Nora, he would have run off with it all!"The cop looked at me impressed by my display.

"Nicely done." He told me. I nodded appreciatively at him. "We've got the robber in custody. We'll be in touch with the owners." Alice nodded and gave him her thanks before he exited. A few seconds later the police cars left the parking lot.

"That was awesome!" Dylan yelled excitedly. "Where did you learn to fight like that?!" I turned to see him standing right behind me.

"Oh you know I took some self defense classes." I said nonchalantly.

"No, but seriously. That was awesome. I owe you big time. If there's anything you need, don't be afraid to ask." He said enthusiastically.

"Well, there is something.." I said coolly.

"Anything, spill."

"I don't have any money for a hotel, so if you maybe could help me—" He cut me off.

"Don't worry about it; you can stay with me and my wife." I nodded solemnly.

"Thank you."

"No thank you for what you did today."


Dylan lived a few miles from the diner/repair shop. His home was a two story town home with a wraparound porch in the front. He invited me inside, instantly I was overwhelmed by the beautiful aroma of sizzling chicken; I hadn't noticed how hungry I was until my stomach growled approvingly at the aroma.

He led me to the kitchen where a gorgeous younger looking woman was standing over the stove. She turned towards us revealing deep, blue eyes and soft features. She was stunning, I felt a pang of jealously for someone who was so naturally beautiful; she gave us a sweet smile.

She introduced herself as Lilith. "You must be Nora. Make yourself comfortable, dinner is almost done." I nodded my thanks and took an awkward seat at the island. Dylan kissed his wife before heading upstairs.

"Did you need any help?" I asked politely feeling awkward just standing around watching. She must have sensed that because she had me stir some noodles. After a bit of an awkward silence, Lilith spoke.

"So what brings you here? Dylan said your car broke down, but without any clothes or anything it just doesn't seem like you're on a planned trip somewhere." She paused before asking, "Is there something you're running away from?"

I didn't think it was that obvious. I couldn't help but shy away; it was weird talking about my 'problems' with anyone.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked kindly. She walked over to me and put a hand on my shoulder. And for some reason I did. I told her everything. Patch, the pregnancy, and what happened at the mall, minus the superhuman parts of it that would probably freak her out.

"You know what I think? I think he's just as scared as you are." I laughed. It didn't seem real that Patch would be scared of anything. "Having a baby," she motioned to my stomach that was hidden under my grey sweatshirt, "I think he's terrified of becoming a father, just like you're worried about being a mother. You should give him a call and get things worked out."

"You think so?" I asked softly. Everything made sense now; the little hints that Patch dropped. Distancing himself, the girls at the mall; he was just worried. I don't know why I never caught that, maybe because I never expected him to be scared.

"Yea. Don't worry though; you're welcome to stay as long as you need." I nodded my thanks as she got up and started to move around the kitchen.

That night I slept on the couch of their home. It felt nice to sleep and relax, but it didn't compare to the soothing, black silk sheets that I shared with Patch. My heart was heavy as I was taken into the crisp memory of lying in bed with Patch. Lying perched up on his hand, one warm, muscular arm wrapped around my waist; his sly, charming smile that made my heart melt; his dark hair that gave midnight a run for its money with eyes to match.

Focusing on that memory, I opened my mind to Patch, letting him in as I felt myself drift into sleep..