Author's note: I freaked out for a second because I thought Luke had the same last name as Madison Paige (didn't want that!). Close, but no. XD

Sparks Flying

"Luke is here! Luke is here!" Konnor chimed as he jumped down the stairs. He went to the door, opening it up for the blonde man. "Luke!"

"'Ey, little bro!" Luke hugged the boy tightly even as Konnor stepped on both of his feet. Luke walked, rather awkwardly, into the house and closed the door.

"Luke," Lydia started, frowning, "do you think you should be driving? You're still recovering."

"Don't worry about me, sweet girl. Nothing can keep me down for long." He smiled. "How are you holding up?" he asked her, waddling over to her. Konnor looked up at him then, digging his chin into the man's sternum.

Lydia shrugged, saying, "We're still here."

"That doesn't tell me much," he grumbled. She knew that if he were at all capable, he'd be the one protecting them. The need was in his face, in his eyes.

"We're fine, Luke." She offered him a small smile.

"You should let me take you guys out," he said. "It's the weekend. We should do something fun!"

"Lydia!" Konnor turned to face his sister, his eyes sparkling happily. "Can we?"

"What'd you have in mind?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I can take you guys out to eat, and then we can go back to my place to hang out. Later today, we should go to the park."

"It's cold outside, Luke." Konnor frowned now.

Luke smiled. "You've not been to the park recently, have you?"

This time of year, the trees surrounding the playground would be glowing with an assortment of colors in anticipation for Christmas. There would be inflatables and larger light displays. People went there a lot to take pictures.

"No," Konnor said, shaking his head.

"Lyd, do you want to go?"

Lydia remained silent for a long moment. "If you guys want to go, you can."

"Lydia, you can't keep yourself locked up in the house." Luke's eyes were sad. "You still have a life that needs to be lived."

She ruffled Konnor's hair when he rushed over to hug her hips. "I'll be fine," she told them. "You two should go, though."

"What time do you want him back?" Luke asked, looking a little defeated.

"I want to spend the night at Luke's!" Konnor told her, looking up at her with big, brown pleading eyes. "Please, Lyd!"

She looked to Luke again and he smiled, shrugging. "Sounds like fun," he said.

"That's fine, so long as Luke is okay with it."

"Yes!" Konnor jumped back over to Luke, taking the man's hand. He stared at their hands for a moment, taking in the size difference, the warmth that Luke gave off. He was reminded of his father.

They all turned to the stairs when they started groaning under a man's weight. Jayden appeared, freshly showered and righting his tie. His steely blue eyes landed on their company. Luke straightened, clearing his throat. This had to be the FBI guy that Konnor had told him about.

Luke introduced himself and the other man nodded. "I've heard a lot about you. How are you?"

"Better," Luke said. "Thanks for askin'." The guy seemed decent enough, Luke thought as he gave Jayden the once-over. He looked down at Konnor, "Why don't you go get everything you need and we'll leave?"

"Alright!" The boy dashed up the stairs.

"Konnor's leaving?" Jayden asked, looking at Lydia. She only nodded.

"Yeah. I'll bring him back tomorrow afternoon. Is that okay, Lyd?"

She nodded, saying, "I'll be here."

Of course you will be, he thought with a sigh. "Cool," he decided to say.

Jayden leaned back against a wall, observing body posture and listening to the sound of their voices as they addressed one another. There was familiarity there, but also a bridge that neither of them dared to cross.

"Be safe, sweet girl," Luke murmured, wrapping her up in his arms. She returned his hug.

"Konnor!" she called when she pulled out of Luke's embrace. "Don't make Luke wait forever!"

"I'm coming!" He rushed down the stairs, a messenger bag stuffed with his things slung over his shoulder. He handed it off to Luke so he could put on his coat and hat. He stored his gloves in his coat pockets. "I'm ready!"

She smiled at her brother before leaning down to place a small kiss on his cheek. He groaned and she laughed at him. "I love you," she told him.

"I love you, too. Bye, Lyd! Bye, Mr. Jayden!" He jumped over to the door and ran out.

"Wait for me, little dude!" Luke shook his head with a bright smile. "See you later!" He waved and they were gone.

Lydia sighed and looked at him now. Just a moment ago, she had appeared lively and happy. Now she looked tired again; darkness stained pale skin beneath her eyes. She wore a mask around others, then. Part of him thought her protective and courageous, another part of him thought she seemed more like a frightened child, wanting to hide away, and yet another part of him wanted to read too deeply into the fact that she wasn't hiding her despair from him...

She acted as though she were under compulsion for a moment. He watched as she approached. She did not meet his gaze, but stared at his chest. Reaching up, her fingers - soft and warm - grazed the side of his face. Unerringly, she found the scar on his right cheek. She ran her fingers back and forth, as if memorizing the feel of his skin.

Just as quickly, her hand dropped away. She turned and walked into the kitchen. Jayden just stood there for a moment. Such a strange display of...what, exactly? He shook his head and trailed after her. He found her popping pills and downing some sort of juice.

"Lydia...?"

She looked at him from over her shoulder, her expression pained. He blinked and she was facing him completely, a small smile on her face. "Yes?"

"Is something wrong?" Her smile died immediately. "Forgive me if it sounds like I'm prying, but your brother told me..."

"Konnor does not know all of the facts," she muttered.

"He said as much. It's obvious that he worries about you, though."

She dragged a hand through her hair, sighing. "It's true. I've allowed him to see things that he shouldn't have. He's been my shoulder to cry on." She ducked her head, ashamed. "That was foolish on my part. That's too much responsibility for someone so young! To have to deal with his broken sister..."

"What do you mean by that?" he asked her, leaning one hip against the counter and crossing his arms over his chest.

She looked up at him again, biting into her bottom lip mercilessly. She turned away and poured him a cup of coffee. As she did so, she said, "It was a long time ago... My father was in law enforcement and he'd arrested an arsonist. Turns out, the arsonist had been far more than that." She handed him the cup, her head bowed as if she couldn't bring herself to look at him.

"My parents were going on vacation," she continued. "I was supposed to watch Konnor for the couple of weeks that they would be gone. I went over to say good-bye and to wait for my brother to get home from school." She was spilling her guts to this man, she thought. She realized that she found him easy to talk to; he was quiet, listening to everything she said and, when she dared to glance up at him, he even looked like he cared.

"That guy turned up again," she said. "He had rigged their car to explode, hoping to get back at my father. My parents were killed. I was caught in the blaze."

At first, he struggled to speak. He uttered his sincere condolences before asking her, "What happened after that? Konnor says that you're still hurt."

"I...have trouble at times, yes. I was too close to the blast and I broke my arm, got some burns and a nasty spinal fracture." She shrugged. "I'm fine most of the time, but I have to take something for pain when my own body decides it doesn't like me all that much." She tried to laugh it off. "Some officers went to retrieve Konnor from the school and brought him to me while I was in the hospital. We stayed there until I was able to move."

"Does Konnor know what really happened?"

"He doesn't know about the explosion, no. He knows that an evil man killed our parents, but I never told him that the man is the same person that hurt me."

"And he just watches you struggle through the day?"

Tears burned her eyes and nose. "No. He tries to help me when he catches me at my weakest. I try to hide it from him, but he knows. He's not stupid."

"No, he's not," Jayden agreed. "He's more aware than anyone thinks. He's scared he'll lose you, too."

"He told you this?" The tears started trickling down the length of her face. Jayden nodded. "I'll have to have a talk with him when he gets back. He's not going to lose me..."

"I know," Jayden murmured. He couldn't help himself; he reached up to touch her hair. It felt like silk against his skin. He crushed her hair in his fist before he noticed that she was staring at his mouth. She licked her lips, desire in her eyes.

As if in slow-motion, he leaned down. Her heart raced as she watched his descent. She was impatient for his kiss, but she held herself completely still. His lips found hers in a slow, drugging kiss. Her body responded so quickly to his touch, catching fire and surprising her with the intensity.

Jayden placed his cup of coffee on the counter beside him. He reached up, touching her tear-drenched face. His thumb brushed away the next couple of tears that dared to touch her cheek. He felt her shudder and move a little closer to him, seeking out his warmth, needing to feel his strength.

His hands found her hips and he pulled her against him. Her body, soft and pliant as it was, fit itself into him so completely, so beautifully, molding to fill every empty part of him. His hold on her tightened when her tongue caressed his lower lip, begging for entry. He opened for her, allowed her a small exploration before he took possession of her mouth with his own.

She wrapped her arms around his neck as their tongues met, sliding against and massaging one another. He captured her little whimper with his mouth and couldn't help the small smile that came to his face. He allowed her to pull her head away so that he was staring into her big, hazel eyes.

He enjoyed seeing her flushed face, the rise and fall of her chest as she panted. Her hands slid down and stopped at his chest as she lowered her gaze. "Is this...okay?" She felt the need to ask.

Every sane thought had been driven from his head by this point, which called for the response: "Who cares?"

And she laughed. A genuine laugh that had his heart melting.

Their time would be cut short, however. Jayden's phone went crazy and he pulled away from her to answer with, "Norman Jayden." At once, he sounded strictly professional. She wrapped her arms around herself, biting her bottom lip as she watched his face. "I'm going to the station," he told her when he ended the call. She only nodded. "Lock up tight," he said as they walked to the door.

"I will," she assured him. He left.

Chapter: complete!