Chapter 12

They were five minutes from his apartment when Kat woke and tried to sit up in the back seat. She grunted a little as she tried to move around with what felt like bandages tightly wrapped around her middle.

"Careful Kat!" John said from the front seat. "I just got the bleeding to stop and I don't want you to make it worse AGAIN."

Kat ignored the annoyed tone of voice from him and asked, "Where are we going?"

"Back to my apartment. I need to check out that wound in the light. I think it's just a graze but I need to be sure. Kat what the hell were you thinking, putting yourself in danger like that?!" He asked angrily.

Kat cringed because she could see it coming. This was going to be their first fight, but this was too important an issue for her to back down. "Because John, I'm not about to let you get hurt, much less get hurt because of me."

"But that's my job, Kat! I put myself in danger to save people everyday!" He NEEDED to get her to understand that he would not allow her to put herself in danger each time someone was shooting at him!

"Well, not for this girl you won't! I'm not some shrinking violet, John. Up until two weeks ago, I'd been taking care of myself, BY myself, and I'll have to go back to doing that again, once this whole thing is over."

John was taken aback by her words. She was an independent woman and he loved that about her, but was she saying that once this was over, she'd be leaving? The thought of that happening was like a knife twisting in his gut. Had he read her so horribly wrong? He thought that they'd agreed that they were in a relationship, that they cared for each other, and that they were progressing to something more but...

When John didn't answer her, Kat felt that she needed to clarify things. She wanted no misunderstanding about her role in this relationship. "John, I appreciate your wanting to protect me and the things you've already done for me. But don't you see? I want to keep you safe just as much as you want to keep me safe. I CAN'T stand by and watch you get hurt if there's something I can do about it."

"Kat, I suppose I can appreciate that, but you need to understand, I will NOT let you get hurt on my account, while I'm doing my job. You can't and you won't protect me from that. I won't allow you to put yourself in danger like that again!

"So, you're asking me to respect your choice, but you aren't willing to respect mine!" She finally shouted, angry that he was trying to make her agree to something she didn't want to. They both sat there in silence for the rest of the trip and while he helped her get out of the car, she shrugged off his arm when he tried to help her walk up to his apartment.

Unfortunately, her pride was stronger than her body. She had to pause several times on the stairs when she became light-headed. "This is ridiculous Kat! Let me carry you up to the apartment." He said, reaching for her.

"Don't you dare John! I'm going to climb these stairs on my own because I choose to." She said through clenched teeth.

"Oh! You are the most infuriating woman I've ever met!" He shouted.

"I know." She smiled and began climbing again.

After several minutes, they finally reached the top and then she stood there swaying. "Alright John, I think I could use your help now." She said weakly.

"Finally!" He said, sweeping her up in his arms. He got them in the door and set her gently on the bed. "Ok, let me check out your side." He unwrapped the bandages from around her middle and prodded the edges of the wound. It was still bleeding a little but only sluggishly. "Yes, it's a graze, as I suspected, it would have been so much better IF ONLY YOU HAD DONE WHAT I TOLD YOU and not done all sorts of gymnastics to get up on the trailer." He spoke gruffly. "Let's get this cleaned up and get you to bed."

He scooped her up again and carried her to the bathroom. Kat thought it would be better not to argue with him about this and she wrapped her arms around him as he picked her up and walked with her down the hall. She rested her head on his shoulder and then spoke. "John, I don't want to fight. I just want you to know where I stand. You're so important to me and I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you..."

"Oh Kat, I know. I don't either. I...I lost someone I loved once and it almost destroyed me. I'm not sure what it would do to me if I lost you." He hugged her close and then set her down on the bench next to the shower in the bathroom.

She sighed and then said, "How about a compromise then. I'll bow down to your expertise on things relating to your job. If you tell me to do something, I'll do it, BUT I need to trust you to allow me to help you when I can, even if it puts me in danger. Neither of us is used to having someone protecting our backs but we're going to HAVE to get used to it if this is going to work between us."

John was silent for a long time as he cleaned her wound and used bandages to keep itclosed. When he was done, he looked up into her eyes. "I don't like the thought of you getting hurt Kat, but I do want this to work, I want US to work, so I'll 's the best I can promise right now."

"Then for now, it's enough. Now, take me to bed John."

"I am NOT going to make love to you tonight Kat. You need sleep so that your body can replenish some of the blood you lost." He picked her up and carried her out.

Kat pouted, but said, "Fine. Then at least hold me. I'll sleep better if you do."

He grinned at her and they snuggled together on the bed. "Try and keep me away!" They lay together, holding each other and drifted off to sleep.

*~*~*~*~*~*

John woke out of a sound sleep by his cell vibrating on the bedside table. He couldn't grab for it as quickly as he would normally have because one arm was trapped under a warm, pliant body and the other was wrapped over said body and encased in a death grip between her arms. He didn't want to move for fear of waking Kat, she obviously needed the sleep, but he needed to check his phone before the buzzing sound woke her. He carefully slid his left arm out from between hers and rolled onto his back so that he could grab the phone while his right arm stayed buried beneath her.

The display read 'Fusco'. He seriously considered ignoring the call but then thought better of it. Fusco didn't normally just call him up to chat at just after eight, on a Saturday morning. And why the hell hadn't Carter called him last night to update him on anything she might have found out at the site after the shooting? He picked up the call and whispered his one word greeting. "Lionel."

"Nice." Came his quick retort. "No, good mornin'? No... thanks for doin' your job...nothin'?" He didn't give John a chance to answer before he continued. "Well, whatever...I just wanted to let you know I went out and took care of those shooters, well, what used to be the shooters, down at Kat's place."

Now the Detective had his attention and he wasn't worried about waking Kat anymore. "Wait a minute Lionel, why were you there? I called Carter yesterday and left her a message after Kat got shot."

"Wait, what? Kat got shot?! Is she OK?"

"Yes Lionel, she's alright. Now what about Carter...where is she?"

John looked down at Kat as she shifted against him. She whimpered when she moved. He pulled her towards him with the arm that was still lying underneath her and she rolled onto her back. She sighed but didn't open her eyes yet.

"Well, she's home now. They released her late last night."

"Lionel..." He interrupted quickly. "...what do you mean, released?"

"From the hospital. She got attacked when she was at Kat's place yesterday."

"What?!"

Kat's eyes blinked open and she looked up at John. She frowned when she saw the look on his face, but she didn't speak.

"Yeah, some douche bag had been there waitin' for Kat to come back I guess. Carter took care of him but he got her with a knife, roughed her up a bit, before she got off a shot. He's in the hospital now in a shiny new pair of bracelets. He'll be there for a little while. She got him pretty good."

"Good girl." He whispered then closed his eyes. "So she's doing OK?" His voice was barely above a whisper.

"Yeah. She's real pissed though."

"She probably won't speak to me for a week...or two."

"No man, she's not pissed at you...well, no more than usual." Fusco chuckled. "She's pissed at the asshole who stabbed her. Anyway...Kat's place was pretty torn up from what I could tell and it wasn't from the fight Carter had with him either. Whoever's out to get Kat is pretty pissed that they keep missin' her. You gonna keep her under the radar for a while?"

"I am."

"Good. Well, like I was tryin' to tell ya earlier, I got the site cleared without too much of an issue. Called in a couple favors with some buddies of mine in ATF. They got the weapons and took credit for the 'bust' of what they're callin' an extremist group that's been targeting construction companies that support the 'green' initiative."

'Oh God', he thought. What if Kat had gone back to her apartment? It made him almost physically ill just thinking about it. He propped himself up on his elbow and switched the phone to the other hand so that he could reach out and run the back of his knuckles down the side of her face. Her eyes slid closed as his fingers reached her chin. He continued up the other side and then cradled the side of her face while his thumb made soft swipes across her lips.

"Hmm. That was clever, Lionel."

"Thanks, I can think on my feet every once in awhile, thanks to havin' to deal with your shit all the time." He chuckled again. "Well, just wanted to catch you up. You gonna need anything else today?"

"I don't think so. Thanks Lionel...for your help."

"Sure, no problem."

John disconnected the call.

"Hi." He swept a piece of hair off of her forehead and smiled down at her.

"Morning." Her smile was warm as she answered him.

"How are you feeling?"

Kat shrugged slightly. "Eh...maybe a little sore but hey...what do you expect? Give a girl a break, I just got shot."

He didn't smile at her joke which worried her. "Hey...what's the matter?"

He leaned over to her and kissed her forehead because he couldn't answer the question she was really asking, so he deflected and told her about what Lionel had told him...about her apartment, and then about Joss.

"Oh no! Is she OK? We have to go see her!" Kat started to sit up, but cringed when a sharp pain tore through her side. "Ow! Damn it."

John reached out to her and pushed her gently back down. "No no no...you're not going anywhere."

"John..." She started but he quickly interrupted her.

"Nope." He leaned down and kissed her lips this time. He nibbled on her soft mouth and pushed against it with his tongue to gain entrance. At first, John thought she was going to give in, but then she put her hands against his chest and pushed up.

"Hey, Mr. Hypocrite..."

"Hypocrite?"

"Mm Hmm. Because if you think I can do that then I can get up and go see Joss at her apartment with you."

He sighed and then smirked at her. "Touche'."

"Ok good. Help me up then and I'll go get ready."

"Let me check the bandage first."

"OK." Kat lifted the bottom of her shirt up. John examined the gauze on top first to make sure that it hadn't soaked through in the night. It didn't look like it had bled any more than he'd expected it to.

He stared at her for a few more seconds before he reached beneath her and lifted her upper body into a sitting position. He saw that she still grimaced when she moved, but it wasn't a look that was laced with pain this time. He frowned at the fact that she was in any pain at all, but tried not to allow the anger to overtake him.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed, set her feet on the ground, and rose slowly onto her feet. John was already off the bed and standing next to her, ready to steady her if she needed it. She reached out as she wavered a little, but then she straightened, looked up at him, and smiled. "I'm good...I think." She took a few steps and then nodded. "Yep! I think I'm good."

He walked with her all the way to the bathroom. When she walked in, she turned around and started to close the door. "John, I'm OK, really. And...I really need to...ya know..."

"Right. I'll go start some coffee. Call me if you need me."

"I will." She smiled and closed the door.

It took Kat significantly longer than normal to get ready but finally she was done, had her coffee, and was headed out the door with John. It took them about a half hour to get over to Joss's apartment. John had called Joss to let her know that they were coming over. She'd told him that they didn't have to do that, but John said that Kat wasn't exactly going to take no for an answer. Joss chuckled at that and agreed not to shoot him when he got there, just for Kat's sake.

He looked over at Kat several times during the drive. He was trying to be coy about it because she'd already told him twice to stop treating her like she was going to break. He couldn't help himself though. She was tough, he knew that now, but she wasn't unbreakable and that scared him. Something else that scared him was the lengths that he was willing to go to, to keep her from being broken.

"What's wrong?"

Her voice snapped him out of his thoughts that had unwillingly turned to violence; led there by the possibility of having to avenge any acts against Kat.

"Nothing." He said as he glanced over at her with what he hoped was a convincing smile.

"Uh huh."

Her sarcastic reply told him that she didn't buy it.

"I was just thinking..."

"About...?"

"Nothing pleasant...I'd rather not talk about it."

"OK." She reached over and laid her hand on his thigh. "Is there something pleasant you'd like to talk about?

He reached down and put his hand on top of hers and rubbed his thumb lightly over the top of her hand. "I don't know about talking, but there's something pleasant I'd like to do..."

"Oh..." The familiar electric spark ignited in her lower belly as she thought about what that entailed. "Yes, me too."

"Ya know we could go back to my place and just wait until tomorrow to go to Joss's." He pulled her hand on top of the growing hardness between his legs.

"John." Her voice rose at the end of his name in a warning tone. "If you don't stop teasing me I'm gonna make you pull over someplace quiet and have my way with you, right here in the car...and I'm not sure how comfortable that'll be for me...and then we'd show up at Joss's with me feelin' sore and you'd be in a sour mood because you'd be blaming yourself, and I don't think that Joss needs to be dealing with that right now. I mean she was just stabbed for goodness sakes." Her teasing tone turned serious. "Do you not want to go see her today? Is that what was botherin' you, a minute ago?"

John groaned. He hadn't really meant to make a pass at her because he knew she was still sore but, God help him, he couldn't seem to keep his hands off of her...and she was right, in all that she'd just said, except the part about going to see Joss.

"Kat, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make it seem like I don't want to go. I was thinking about you being hurt. It made me angry, but I shouldn't have let myself get worked up about it." He pulled her hand from his lap up to his lips and kissed it. "Forgive me?"

Her mouth dropped open as she looked at him in sheer amazement. "Sensitive and admits his faults? What's not to forgive?" She giggled as he shot her a mock annoyed look. Her laughter was cut off as she felt his tongue softly flicker across her skin as he kissed each knuckle. Her smile quickly turned to a look of need as her breath caught in her throat.

John heard the sharp intake of breath and knew that all was forgotten...but he didn't pull off the road like he desperately wanted to. He already had a plan in place as to how he was going to please her...later. He wasn't going to take the chance that he would further injure her by having his way with her in the car, no matter how much he was dying to pull her into the backseat and bury himself between her legs for hours. He squeezed her hand and brought it back down to rest on his leg again.

Kat closed her eyes and marveled at his self control. How did he dothat; just turn it off at the drop of a hat? She promised herself to ask him about it. Maybe he could teach her too, so that she could function and think about other things when all she wanted was to tackle him to the floor and have her way with him. In the meantime, she took a deep breath through her nose and exhaled it through her mouth and looked anywhere but at John. She watched the concrete buildings pass slowly by as he made his way through the throng of taxis and other cars. They pulled up in front of a row of neat brownstones and John shifted the car into Park. He quickly got out and walked around to her door and opened it for her. She put both feet down and grabbed on to John's proffered hand. As soon as she was standing, he reached around and shut her door.

"Thanks." She said, and looked up at him with a grin. "I'm not totally helpless though."

"Never said you were." He stepped to her uninjured left side and took her hand in his. She squeezed his lightly as he led her up the steps to Joss's building. When they reached her door, John knocked softly. A minute later Joss opened the door cautiously.

"Hey." She smirked at John and then smiled warmly at Kat. "Come on in."

John let Kat preceed him in and then she looked up at him after Joss turned and started to gingerly make her way across her living room. John hurried over to her and offered his arm to her. He helped her ease slowly down onto her loveseat. Joss made a little sound as she sank down onto the plush leather.

"Is Taylor at your mother's?

She nodded her head. "Yeah, I called him yesterday from the hospital and had him go over to spend the week with her. I didn't want him seein' me like this. He worries enough about me because of my job. I didn't need his fears realized right in front of him."

Kat walked over and sat down gingerly next to her. Joss looked over at her with a confused look.

"Hey...you OK?... or has John been playin' a little too rough?"

Kat burst out laughing and immediately regretted it because her side lit up like it was on fire. She put her hand over her side to try and calm the searing pain so that John wouldn't worry and then overreact and have her leave before she'd had a chance to visit with Joss. She saw him shift out of the corner of her eye, but he didn't make any further moves.

"Are you alright?" He asked with a worried look o nm his face.

She nodded. "I'm OK." Then she looked at Joss when she addressed her question.

"I'm doin' better than yesterday, that's for sure." She said lightly.

"Why? What happened?"

"She got shot." John broke in. "On my watch."

Joss's head swung to look at John as he walked over and sat down in the recliner immediately to Kat's right. He didn't sit back and get comfortable like most people would. Instead, he sat forward in the chair, as close to Kat as he could get without sitting on the arm of the loveseat next to her. Joss thought he was acting even more protective than usual, and that just served to confirm her suspicions about John's feelings for Kat.

"Grazed...I got shot at,but it only grazed me."

"What? When?...where?"

"You forgot his brother 'who', his sister 'why', and his uncle 'how'." John broke in.

Joss glared at him and then tried to hide the smile with her hand while Kat giggled at them both.

John returned her glare with a one-sided grin before turning serious again. "Remember that message I sent you? Well, several gunmen took a shot at Kat yesterday evening as we were leaving her office down at the site. Pretty ballsy about it too. They had high powered assault rifles with laser pointers but thankfully their shots were still pretty bad, or Kat might have been..." He let his voice trail off.

"John pushed me out of the way. It could have been worse, but it wasn't. I'm a little worse for wear but, as you can see, I'm fine."

Joss's brows pulled together as she studied them both. John had a look of worry which bordered on the edge of anger while Kat's look was almost indignant. Although, underneath both of their very different expressions was something else. She thought she knew what it was, but she didn't quite know if her assessment was accurate. Maybe she would get the chance to talk to Kat alone and pry it out of her, because she sure as shit wasn't going to get anything of John.

Kat interrupted Joss's thoughts as she turned and looked at her. "So, enough about that...we came over to see how you're doin' Joss. I'm so sorry that you got hurt because of me."

"Oh come on, you don't really think that."

"Well...yeah, I do. If you hadn't gone over to my place, you wouldn't have been stabbed. If I hadn't had John occupied babysitting me..." She glanced at John. "Don't look at me like that John, it's true." Then she turned back to Joss and finished her statement. "...you wouldn't have been there by yourself..."

"OK, I'm gonna stop you right there. I've been through this same argument with John a few times... I'm a cop. I'm in danger of being shot, stabbed, run over, yelled at, and anything else you can think of, every damn day. I don't blame you. I understand why you might feel responsible, but I'm tellin' you right now, to stop. If I hadn't been at your place I could very well have been somewhere else, where I didn't know the layout of the place, and been even more caught off guard... It could have been worse...and has been before." Joss reached out and put her hand on top of Kat's and squeezed gently.

Kat inhaled and then sighed loudly. "Thanks...you're right, of course."

"Well of course I am..." She looked up and grinned at Kat then turned to John. "Just ask John."

Kat laughed softly, keeping herself from letting loose the belly-aching laugh that she knew would have hurt. John looked over at Joss and narrowed his eyes. Joss ignored him and laughed right along with Kat.

After Kat and Joss, none-too-easily, convinced John to go down to the Thai restaurant and pick up a late lunch, Joss decided to ask her about what was really going on between her and John.

"So, Kat...I guess you've been stayin' at John's since that night I dropped you off?"

"I have."

"And, is he at least being a gentleman and letting you have the bed, while you're staying there?"

Kat looked over at Joss, who wasn't quite meeting her eyes. Kat guessed that Joss could be a pretty tough investigator when she had her Detective cap on, but it seemed like she wasn't really interrogating too hard at the moment. It was more like a friend asking a friend about a night out with a guy. She looked...almost, embarrassed or even uncomfortable. Kat wondered if it was the fact that Joss hadn't known her for very long, or if it was the fact that her question involved John.

Kat giggled. Not seeing any reason why she should hide the fact that she and John were sleeping together, she answered Joss truthfully. "Oh I get the bed."

"OK good, I wasn't looking forward to giving him a lecture about it...not that he ever listens anyway..."

"Nope, no lectures needed. I get the bed...as long as he's there with me."

Joss's head snapped up along with one of her perfectly shaped brows and fixed Kat with a narrow eyed stare.

'Ah', Kat thought. 'There's Joss, the interrogator'.

"What?" Kat asked simply. "Don't tell me you didn't at least have a tiny inkling about us."

Joss's eyes softened and she grinned at Kat. "Yeah...I did. It just...I've been working with John for a little while and I've never seen John so...happy, or protective of anyone else...and that's sayin' a lot."

Kat couldn't help the smile that crept upwards as she caught Joss's meaning of her 'anyone else' comment. "You knew... that first day, didn't you?"

Joss shrugged. "I suppose...I had my suspicions, but I didn't know for sure.

Now it was Kat's turn to narrow her eyes. "Uh huh."

"What?" Joss's voice rose, cracking just a little.

"You may be a great detective, but you're a shitty liar."

"You know I got a gun, right?"

Kat laughed again and quickly grabbed her side. "Damn it, stop makin' me laugh."

Joss chuckled. "You and me both honey. Hey, you want some coffee?"

"Oh yeah."

Both women struggled in their own way in getting up off the loveseat. Joss seemed to be having a little more of an issue moving so Kat attempted to help her up.

"Hey, why don't you sit at the table and just tell me where everything is, I'll make the coffee."

"You got it." Joss sat and directed Kat to where everything was. When the coffee was done, Kat poured two cups, added the creamer and sugar, and went to sit down next to Joss.

"Soo, you and John..." Joss said.

Kat took a sip of her coffee. "Yeah..." She whispered, running her fingers over the rim of her cup.

"You like him a lot, dontcha?"

"Not really any beating around the bush with you, is there Joss?"

"Not when it comes to John." She took a sip of her coffee and rested her chin on her hand. "Kinda comes from months of chasin' the man...he holds a special place in my heart."

Kat's head tilted to the side. "Why did you do it?"

"What?"

"Chase him...when he was saving people."

"Well, did the cops stop chasing Batman, just because he was saving people?"

"Commissioner Gordon did." Kat answered her question quickly.

Joss's eyes met hers with a seriousness that matched the tone of her voice. "I was naive Kat. I thought it was all black and white, good or bad, right or wrong... I was wrong...and thankfully I found that out before one of us was killed."

Kat saw the fierce look in her eyes, but she also saw sorrow there. "He really likes you Joss, and he doesn't hold anything that you're blaming yourself for, against you."

"I do...sometimes."

"I can understand why."

Joss studied her for a moment before responding. "Yeah, I suppose you can."

"Ya know Joss, you remind me a little of my brother." Kat smiled.

"Oh yeah? How so?" Joss's mind flashed back to the picture of the nice looking man in the picture with Kat that she had seen laying broken on the floor of Kat's apartment yesterday.

"You're both tough, no-nonsense, family oriented, and..."

"And what?"

"Well, I was gonna say hot, but I thought that might sound weird, saying that about my brother."

Joss giggled. "Girl!...You think I'm hot? I KNEW it!"

Kat couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled out of her but immediately regretted it. "Ow! Damn it, don't make me laugh!"

That got Joss giggling even harder at which point John walked in on the two women laughing with odd looks of pain mixed with glee, on their faces. When they looked up at him and saw the look on his face, their laughter increased and that had them both clutching at their sides and breathing hard.

"You ladies alright?"

Joss was able to speak first. "Oh yeah, I just found out your girlfriend has a little crush on me."

"What? Joss!" Kat shrieked.

Joss was nearly doubled over in her fits of laughter.

"I guess I can't leave you too alone again."

"Nope. Kat might come on to me."

"Joss, damn it, if you weren't injured, I'd kick your ass!"

"Uh huh...if I wasn't shot, you'd never even get close."

"Oooh, so is that a challenge?"

"You better believe it honey!" Joss answered, still giggling.

"Oh boy." John mumbled. "Neither one of you know what you're getting into."

Both heads swung to look up at him incredulously, then they were both laughing again. John just shook his head as he walked into the kitchen and set the takeout bags on the counter. He dished both Joss and Kat a plate and then sat down at the table across from them. They ate in a companionable silence. When they were finished they sat and talked for a couple of hours until both Joss and Kat stopped talking as much. Joss had taken a pain pill and had shared one with Kat too. They both looked like they could fall asleep where they sat. John took that as his cue to take Kat home.

When he suggested it, Joss almost looked disappointed, but she also looked like she didn't have the strength to try to convince them to stay. John helped Kat up off of the couch. He asked Joss if she would like some help getting to her bed. She looked like she was going to refuse, but she gave in to his offer, only because she didn't think she'd be able to make it by herself at this point. He helped her up and put his arm around her.

"Well John, first your girlfriend calls me hot, now you're taking me to bed...what's next?"

John chuckled, a deep, hearty sound. "Well Joss...you are hot, but like ya said, I've got a girlfriend. And I'm pretty sure she's the jealous type."

When they reached her bed, John pulled down the coverlet and sheets, and gently lowered her onto the bed. He reached down and lifted her legs up so she didn't have to strain to lift them. As she settled down into her pillows, he pulled the covers over her.

"Hey, do you need us to stay? Kat could come lay down in here with you. We don't have to leave."

"Naw..I'm not really up to having a threesome right now."

John shook his head and chuckled. "Call me if you need anything at all."

"Thanks." Her voice was soft and slightly slurred.

"You're welcome." He placed his hand on her shoulder. Her eyes drifted slowly closed. He turned and walked across her room. Her voice stopped him when he reached the doorway.

"John."

"Yeah Joss?"

"You're a good man...You take care of her..."

He smiled, even though she couldn't see it behind her closed lids. "I will, I promise."

He walked back out into the living room where Kat was leaning up against the door. "Oh sweetheart...I'm so sorry. I should've taken you home sooner."

"Mmm...Is OK." She mumbled.

"No, it's not." He opened the door and ushered her out, then he turned the lock and pulled the door shut. He turned to Kat, gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek, and then swung her up into his arms. Her soft gasp was the only sound she made as he carried her down the steps, and out to his car.