Author's note: I do not own NCIS:LA or its characters
It was July 4th, and there were firework shows all over the city. Fatima and Rountree ended up having a movie night at his house, mostly so Fatima could snuggle with him without the judgemental stares from her parents. She did not like fireworks at all, mostly because they reminded her of what happened in Egypt. She curled up next to him and put her head on his chest. He smiled and put his arm around her, gently squeezing her arm. Then some loud fireworks went off nearby. Fatima instantly wrapped her arms tighter around him, burying her face in his chest. He gently kissed her head and hugged her tighter. "Hey, I think it's about time to go to bed," he whispered. It was almost 2 in the morning, but Fatima still didn't want to go to sleep. "Can I sleep in your room?" she asked quietly. "If you are comfortable with that, then absolutely. I have a small couch in there, it's not very big but you could probably fit if you don't want to be on the bed with me," he said gently. She looked up at him. "I want to sleep with you," she said quietly. "If you're comfortable with that, then that's fine," he said softly. "I want to. Will you hold me? Fireworks make me nervous," she said quietly. "Of course I'll hold you, but if you don't mind me asking, why do fireworks make you nervous?" he asked as they went into the bedroom. Fatima crawled into the bed and slipped her hoodie off, leaving her in a pair of leggings and a shirt that she had she had stolen from Devin. She pulled the blanket over her and snuggled up in the pile of pillows and blankets. Rountree pulled off his shirt and crawled into the bed next to her. He gently put his arm around her. She immediately snuggled into him. "You okay?" he whispered. She shrugged. "I guess the fireworks remind me of when I was captured," she said quietly. Devin's eyes threatened to pop out of his head. He turned his head so fast they were both surprised he didn't snap his neck. "What, when, what are you talking about?" he asked nervously. "Wait, you didn't know?" she asked. "No, please tell me what you're talking about," he said nervously. Fatima closed her eyes and curled up in his arms. "I was on a mission in Egypt about two years ago. They gave us bad info, we went to breach, big explosion, so much shooting," she couldn't stop crying and trembling. Rountree wrapped his arms around her. "It's okay, you're safe, I promise," he whispered as she cried into him. "I got left behind, I tried to get to Oklahoma, they grabbed me," she sobbed. Rountree gently rubbed her back. He kissed her head. "I promise, you're safe," he murmured as she cried. "They made a video, they demanded ransom from my parents, they had a sword to my throat," she sobbed. Rountree kisssed her head. "I promise it's okay. I promise," he whispered as he ran his hand over her back. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked softly. "I don't know, I guess I figured someone else did," she said softly. "Aww, sweetheart. Come here," he whispered. She fell asleep with his arms wrapped around her. He fell asleep with his head against the wall. They were in such an adorable position, Rountree wished he had a picture of them. He was gently rocking her and giving her a reassuring squeeze at every firework.