She was walking out of the bar just passed 1 AM. Lee would be around any minute with the bike to grab her, so she waited out in the heavy air to try and put her mind at ease. She'd gotten through the work day like a zombie, moving from task to task, her mind off in space. She was so out of it that she didn't even notice the drunk walking up to her.

"Princess," he said, making his way groggily up to her. "We meet again, princess!"

She sighed, too exhausted to deal with it. "I'm not your princess," she said. "Please, please leave me alone before you do something you'll regret."

"Honey I'd never regret anything as beautiful as you are," he said, his voice reaching a sickeningly high pitch as he bumbled about.

She dropped her head, checking the time on her phone. Lee's last text filled the screen.

Be there soon. Car is almost done. I'll bring you home. -Lee

"Hey," the guy said, and then again: "hey."

She shook her head, wondering what Riley was doing, how she was feeling. She was a phone call away, but Sammy was so afraid to face her after all that time. She loved her more than anything in the world, her baby sister. She'd trade her life for Riley just to have a chance. She wondered if bargaining would work. For it to have a chance, there'd have to be some kind of god. And what god would do this?

"Hello-oo? Are you listening?"

"Please," Sammy said, turning to him. "Really. You don't want to do this. My friend is coming to pick me up and if he sees you, somebody will end up getting hurt."

The man chuckled, his laughter fumbling over into a burp. She cringed away from him, looking up desperately for Lee.

"I like the way you beg," he said, stepping closer.

Sammy sighed and shook her head. There was no deterring him. He was a chronic drunk, probably not ever sober enough to remember anything he did. Working the bar during the night shift had lead to her meeting a few people like that. She wondered if maybe they had the right idea.

"Come on, honey, don't play hard to get," he said, wrapping a dizzy set of fingers around her upper arm. She looked anxiously up to the sky, tears stinging behind her nose. She tugged her arm away, but he held on with a laugh.

"You're a wily one, I tell ya," he said, tightening that vice grip on her arm.

"Seriously, back up," she said, feigning confidence. Even drunk, he didn't fall for it.

"Come on, honey. You know you like me. I see you everywhere, like you're following me."

She heard the sound of Lee's bike roaring up and knew he would turn the corner any second.

"You have to let go of me right now," she said, glancing over her shoulder. "And you need to get some help. You're sick. You need help."

He looked at her confused and then squeezed her a little tighter. "I ain't got nothing-"

"Fuck!" Sammy snapped, pulling her arm away harder though he didn't budge. "Let go."

Lee's bike rounded the corner of Rico's and he stopped it, pulling his helmet off as he studied the scene. He climbed off the bike and walked over, helmet clenched in his fist.

"Sammy," he said, grabbing her the other arm. "Is this the guy?"

"Shit, Lee," she said, shaking her head, "let's just go, alright? Come on. please."

Lee handed off the helmet to her and slid her behind him. The drunk man was holding onto her arm, squinting up at Lee.

"You should go," Lee said, taking the guy by the shoulders. "Let her go and head the other way. Come on."

The guy let Sammy go but chuckled, waving to her with a creepy, finger-wagging wave. He made a kissy motion with his lips and Lee shoved him. He stumbled back, too drunk to catch his balance, and ended up flat on his ass in front of Lee.

Lee pointed a finger down at him, boiling. "I said you should go. I warned you."

"Lee, please," Sammy bellowed, pulling on the back of his shirt.

Lee glanced back at her and brushed her off, picking the guy up by his jacket and standing him on his feet. He pulled a throwing blade out from his pocket and held it to the man's throat, eyes dark and cold.

"If I hear one more thing about you coming up to her, you and this blade are gonna be the only ones getting intimate," he snarled, and Sammy felt her tears start to slip from her eyes.

The drunk stumbled back, fumbling between all fours and his feet. Lee watched him go before he tucked the blade back into his pocket and reached back for Sammy.

"Sammy," he said, suddenly softer, the shadows leaving his face, "are you alright? Did he hurt you?"

Sammy looked up at him, afraid. "Lee," she said, shaking her head. "What the hell?"

"What?" He asked, worried. "What happened?"

"You pulled a knife on that guy!" She said, taking a step back. "He's a drunk, Lee!"

"He already bruised you up," he said. "Your wrist-"

"You threatened to kill him!"

"It was only a threat. He won't bother you anymore."

"Lee!"

"What?"

Sammy's lips trembled and she looked up to the sky, breathing the humid air and finding the clouds parted slightly, displaying the stars. She swallowed, a few tears slipping from her eyes.

"Lee," she said again, her voice more broken, more weak.

"What?" He asked, stepping towards her, concerned.

"I don't know how I'm gonna keep doing this," she said, chest heaving under the pressure of the universe. "I don't know how I'm supposed to live like this."

Lee sighed and pulled her into a tight hug, one of his hands settling on the back of her head.

"It's okay. Right now, in this moment, you're okay."

She nodded, squeezing her eyes shut to try and stop the tears.

"Can you please take me home?" She asked, yawning.

"Of course," he said, lifting the helmet from her hands and placing it over her head. "Climb on. We'll be there soon."

The ride was short mostly because Sammy spent the entire time watching the road whisk by under her feet. It made her dizzy, the rocks and grain of the asphalt passing by at impossible speeds beneath them. She was holding onto Lee, but she knew that if she let go, she'd slide right off and that hard grain of the road would tear her up and pull her away.

Before she knew it, Lee was pulling up into her driveway and kicking down the stand. He helped her off the bike and took the helmet, tucking it away.

"Come on," he said. "Want some tea?"

"I wanna sleep," she said, checking her phone. No updates on Riley.

"Okay," he said, waiting patiently while she fiddled with her keys to unlock the screen door. She opened it and they walked in, bathed in the night like always. He flicked on the lights and followed her to her bedroom.

"Are you okay?" He asked, leaning awkwardly in the doorway.

"Just-" she started, reaching for a t-shirt and shorts that were laying on top of her dresser. "Just turn around, okay?"

Lee nodded and spun in his spot, looking down at his feet. He didn't want to leave her alone tonight, but he didn't think he had a choice. The last two nights hadn't been on purpose, but he was starting to find that he longed for the smell of her house when he was away from her. It was a happy place to come back to in the night.

He heard her climb lazily into bed.

"You can turn back around," she said, sighing from the middle of her sheets.

He did, glancing over at her clothes rolled up on the floor and her oversized shirt covering her narrow body. He cautiously made his way over to her and sat down on the edge of the bed. He remembered the night he had carried her here and tucked her in, fast asleep the entire time, peaceful. She was anything but peaceful now.

"She's dying, Lee," she said softly, fiddling with the sheets between her fingers.

He sighed, looking over her face in the dim light. He couldn't tell if she was crying or not.

"What does she have?" He asked.

"Leukemia," she said dryly, her mouth disgusted at the word. "She was diagnosed almost a year after I left. She was just over nine."

He didn't know how to respond. His experience with cancer was few and far between. His experience with a sibling having cancer was zero.

"It's in the bone marrow, you know?" She said, almost laughing. "I would give her all the marrow I have if it would save her. Or stem cells, or whatever she needed. I'd give her my heart. She already has it, Lee. She's my baby sister. Emphasis on baby."

Lee could feel her heart breaking from where he sat on the edge of her bed. He couldn't see it, but he knew she was crying.

"I'm sorry," she said, wiping her cheeks. "This is all really heavy, and when you walked over here for beers the other night you definitely didn't sign up for this depressing shit."

Lee shifted closer to her. "I didn't then," he said, swallowing. "But I do now. Right now. I sign up for the depressing shit."

Sammy looked up at him, her eyes locking on his. After a minute or so she looked back down, her nose running as she fought the tears.

"She wasn't planned," she said to her sheets. "My mom didn't even think she could carry anymore kids, so, imagine her surprise. Riley was the favorite from the day she was born. And she deserved to be. Always so smart... and so sweet... she was such a good baby. Quiet."

Lee kept his eyes trained on her face, frowning.

"I was older. Actually, I was fourteen when..." she let out a shaky breath. "When she was born. And now..."

"Hey," Lee said, shaking his head. "Stop thinking like that, okay? It's not time yet. Right now Riley needs her big sister. She needs you."

Sammy looked back at him and forced a smile. "She'd like you, you know."

Lee smiled back. "Of course she would."

Sammy rolled her eyes, laying back onto her pillows and finding the ceiling. She had plastered cheap glow in the dark stars up there that even after years found a way to glow. She studied them.

"She's the reason I left," she said softly, watching the stars. "She told me I should always follow my dreams. I used to draw her a lot. I didn't bring any of her to Tool's, though."

Lee realized he could listen to her talk all night. It didn't matter what it was about, he just wanted to listen to her voice.

"She was young, but she was really smart, Lee."

"Is," he corrected, scanning her face. "She still is."

"Right," Sammy said, swallowing. "She told me, 'Sammy, you've wanted to go to New Orleans for as long as I've known you and that's a long time. It's my whole life! There's nobody I know that's better at art and making things work, so you should go. I'll miss you, but air planes are pretty cool. So you should go.'"

Sammy started sniffling more when she reached the end of the sentence. Lee felt tears building up within him too.

"I just can't lose her, Lee," she said, trying not to break. "I feel so fucking helpless."

He reached out his hand and wrapped it around hers, giving it a squeeze.

"You're doing so good," he said, trying to smile. "You're doing everything you can. I think she'd be happy to know you're doing art in order to help her."

Sammy looked up at him and smiled.

"You're right," she said gently, her voice a faint whisper.

Lee watched her for another second before he sighed and looked down. He was dirty, covered in grease and sweat. He stood up and made his way to the door.

"Lee?"

He turned back, one hand on the frame of the door.

"Yeah?"

"Can you... can you stay?"

He shifted, looking down at his dirty clothes.

"I know it's not fair to ask," she added, looking back up to the ceiling. "But... you can stay, if you want to."

Lee nodded, drawing in a breath as he pulled up his shirt and tossed it aside. He had been in the same pants for two days and debated taking them off, but he didn't want to make Sammy uncomfortable.

"Do you have any... uh... pants?" He asked.

"Unless you want booty shorts, then no, I don't."

"I just don't wanna get your sheets dirty," he said.

She rolled over so her back was facing him.

"Then take them off. It's fine."

He watched her for a second before he undid his button and zipper and kicked them to the side with his shirt. He lifted up the blanket and climbed under it, holding his head up with his hand, elbow propped on a pillow. He reached over and stroked her arm.

"I'm so afraid," she whispered, shifting under the blankets.

"It's okay," he said, taking a deep breath. "It's okay to be afraid. It means you have something worth holding onto."

Before long Lee realized she had fallen asleep. He wanted to hold her like he did the night before, but he didn't want to disturb her or scare her away. He shifted onto his back, looking up at her glow in the dark stars, his body on the opposite edge of the bed than hers. He wished there was more he could do. He could kill the worst people in the world in the most insufferable places, but when it came to this- he couldn't do anything. He could sleep next to her, keep her company, help her get around- but that was it. He couldn't go rescue Riley and deliver her safely to Sammy's arms. Even so, he knew there would be nobody in the world that would be as happy and as thankful for that as Sammy would. No amount of money those parents spent on rescuing their snooty kids could replace the love Sammy had for Riley.

—-

Sometime before sunrise Sammy started to toss and turn. At some point she turned into Lee, forgetting he was there and surprised that he had stayed. He was flat on his back, hands tucked over his stomach, sleeping stiff like a soldier.

Maybe that's what you are, she thought, groggily looking him over. He was built solid, his hair buzzed down to almost nothing. He certainly looked like one.

She curled herself up into a little ball and rested on his arm, trying not to disturb him. She just wanted to feel somebody close to her so that the crashing, crushing feeling of the world being swept out from under her didn't knock her out. She already felt like she was down for the count. Lee's warmth made the pain a little easier to bare. His presence made it seem survivable.

—-

Lee woke up first. He noticed Sammy curled against his arm and lazily draped it over her shoulder, resting the palm of his hand just over her hair, above her forehead. She cuddled in closer, one hand curling up next to her face. Her eyes fluttered slightly but eventually stilled. He glanced down at her arm and noticed the bruise on her wrist fading nicely. She had a smaller bruise on her upper arm, presumably from last night when that drunk had grabbed her. He let out a sigh. He would've knocked him around more had she not been right there.

He noticed a couple scars along her forearm and stiffened, curious. He ran his hand along the arm and she stirred, shaking her head against his chest. He recognized those scars- he'd seen them on soldiers too numb for drinks or drugs, too taken with their hatred of themselves to do anything else. He just wanted to take her and hold her and never let her go, never let her out of his sight.

She opened her eyes, blinking and breathing in the morning. Lee scratched her head and she lazily smiled, still half asleep.

"Morning," he said, eyes still trained on her arm.

"Mm-" she said, stretching. "Morning, neighbor."

"Hey," he said, pulling her a bit closer, her body warm against his. "Sammy?"

"Huh?" She asked, sucking in a hard, long breath that she held for a brief second before letting it softly go.

"On your arm," he said weakly, feebly. "I was checking the bruises. You have some... scars-"

She stiffened, looking up at him with sudden, watery eyes.

"Lee," she said, "I don't-"

"It's okay," he said, rubbing her hair. "I just- I just want to tell you that it's okay. It's alright. Really."

She bit her lip, uncertain. She hadn't intended on asking Lee to stay with her when she got dressed. She was too tired and sad to concentrate on hiding anything.

"I was young and stupid," she said quickly, as though she owed him an explanation.

"You don't have to explain anything to me," he said, running his fingers through her hair. "But just know... I'm here now. I can be here."

She pressed her head against his chest. She liked the sound of his heartbeat.

"I can't even imagine what you must be thinking," she breathed, closing her eyes to concentrate on the feeling of his fingers in her hair. "You walked right into this messed up life. You're too good of a guy to walk back out."

"I don't wanna walk out," he said. "I'm not that great. If I wanted to leave, I wouldn't be here right now."

He turned onto his side and pulled her into a warm, tight hug. His body enveloped hers, almost hiding her away from the world completely. He wished it could work that way. He'd take the onslaught that life had to offer and she would be okay, hidden away.

"What time is it, Lee?" She asked.

"Early. Only nine am," he said.

"I told Tool I'd come as early as I could," she said. "Get a head start."

"What time do you go to work at Rico's?" He asked.

"I'm picking up a shift for another waitress. I'll head in around one. I get out around midnight, a bit earlier."

"What are you gonna do for Tool today?" He asked, tracing her back through the cloth of her shirt.

"Probably organize and clean again. He wants me to keep a sketchbook to make sure my skills haven't gone anywhere. I don't think they did."

"Your art is amazing," Lee said. "Really beautiful."

"Gunner told me he wants to be my first human subject when I start tattooing," she said.

Lee chuckled. "Of course he did. He's a giant Swedish flirt, that guy. He'll do anything for a woman's attention."

Sammy blushed and was grateful that her face was hidden in Lee's chest.

"I'm gonna take a shower," she said. "I'd offer you mine, but you live right next door, so it wouldn't be too hard to go there, would it?"

He pulled away and looked down at her, smiling. "Of course not. I'll come back out and grab you to head to Tool's when I'm done."

"Thank you, Lee," she said softly.

"You should stop thanking me," he said, pulling himself to the edge of the bed, reaching for his shirt and pants. "We slept together twice."

Sammy laughed and covered her mouth, kicking the covers off of her legs.

"Right, Lee," she said, rolling her eyes. "Of course."

He glanced back at her as he pulled his pants up and winked. She laughed again, turning her attention to the opposite side of the bed as she stood. He pulled his shirt on and turned to her.

"I'll see you in a bit," he said.

She grabbed her clothes for the day and walked up to him, waving some fuzz away from his face. She stood on her toes and brushed a kiss against his cheek, closing her eyes to hide her embarrassment. Before he could say anything, she hurried off into her bathroom and closed the door behind her, locking it in place.

Figures, Lee thought. The doors inside have locks.

He swallowed and drew in a deep breath. If that was her way of thanking him without saying the words, he should tell her not to say them more often.

—-

They pulled up to Tool's on Lee's bike and saw Barney already awake and working on the car. He turned around and offered them a wave. Lee hurried over to help him finish it up.

"Got a job offer," Barney said, his voice low as he reached into the engine.

"What's the time frame?" Lee asked.

"Two weeks max. South America."

Lee hesitated. The month would be up in around two weeks. He wondered if Sammy would be okay.

Barney raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "You're really whipped, kid."

"What-" Lee struggled, turning to him. "I don't-"

"It's fine," Barney said. "It probably won't take that long. You in?"

"Of course I'm in," Lee grumbled, rolling his eyes. "Am I in, he asks me. Unbelievable."

Barney chuckled and nudged him out of the way.

Tool welcomed Sammy back with an exhausted high five. His hair was greasy and stiff under his hat, his clothes jingling from all the bedazzle.

"Morning, tool," Sammy said, sitting down. "What can I do for you today?"

"Draw me up some designs," he said. "Anything your pretty little heart desires. As complicated or as simple as you'd like. I wanna see what you've got in you."

Sammy nodded, pulling the sketch book over from where she had tucked it away on her makeshift desk. She looked up at all the drawings she had done years ago and took a breath. She thought of the tattoo Lee had shown her of the skull and raven. She figured a good design to get on Tool's good side would be her traditional sketch of a broken statue with a raven mounted on its intact shoulder.

An hour or so later Lee wiped his hands off on a dirty rag and rested against Sammy's desk, peaking over at her drawing.

"What's that?" He asked.

"Working on designs for Tool," she said. "I think he's testing me."

"Probably," Lee agreed. "In his own little way."

Sammy chuckled. A few seconds passed and Lee sighed, wringing his hands.

"Hey," he said. "Listen. We got a job assignment, so, um, Barney and I and the rest of our team are gonna have to go for a while. Tool doesn't travel with us, he's mostly an artist now, but... Longest it'll be is two weeks."

Sammy put her pencil down and looked up at him, putting on a brave face. "Okay."

"Okay?" Lee said. "Because, you know, if you don't think-"

"Lee, don't stop working because of me," she said. "You told me yourself. I can figure it out. I'll just work and push through and whatever happens, you'll be there for it."

Lee nodded, trying to catch a glance through that tough exterior she had put on. He couldn't quite find his way through.

"You know, I worked and got by fine without you for a long time."

"I was still there," he said, brushing her off. "Just a bit more impersonally."

She looked up at him and rolled her eyes. He smiled.

"You gonna come back with more broken ribs?" She asked.

"I'll do my best not to," he said, standing up to go tell Barney he was ready to go whenever.

"Hey, Lee?" She asked, catching his attention. He turned back to her.

"Yeah?"

"Just... Don't die or whatever, alright? If you really are James Bond, then... that's some sketchy shit. If you die I'll kill you."

He smiled. "If I die, you'll have to get in line for that honor."

She frowned.

"I'll be okay. I'll let you know when I'm leaving."

He headed back to barney and Sammy focused on her work. She wondered how it would feel to wake up without him. It already felt like sleeping alone had been a thing of the past.

She tried to push the thought of him not coming back from her mind. She couldn't handle thinking about someone else dying. The idea of Riley dying made her want to jump off the edge of the earth and into the universe for the rest of eternity. The idea of Lee dying made her feel numb and alone. If she had to face his empty house everyday before work, she'd probably drop dead herself. She glanced over at him talking to Barney and sighed.

What a strange week it had been.