Disclaimer: does anyone actually check these? Not mine. So there.

Chapter Two

Ten Years Later

Dennis awoke with a start. He had fallen asleep on the couch again, and could hear the soft sound of breathing from the floor beside him. Looking at her sleeping form, he let a small sigh escape as he brushed a piece of hair from her face. Almost ten years, and she had never left his side, not when the people of their town opposed him, and not when he had moved far from that Godforsaken place to New York City. As her eyes fluttered open, she stared gently up at him.

"The floor isn't exactly the most desirable place to get a good night's sleep, you know," he smiled. She returned a soft grin and curled back into a fetal position.

He felt slightly guilty about not telling her of the newfound job opportunity, but it was late, or rather early. Glancing at the clock's report of 3:57 a.m., Dennis slipped into a dreamless sleep as he let his arm drape gently over the warm shoulder beside him.

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"Do you want breakfast?" she asked brightly, popping her head into the small living room of their apartment, smiling cheerfully.

"Jules, you can't cook..." Dennis replied, hauling himself into a sitting position on the couch, his brow furrowed slightly.

"What, haven't you ever heard of McDonald's breakfast menu?!" she said as a quirky smile played on her face.

As Dennis strolled groggily into the kitchen, he saw Jules switch on the coffee pot and sit down at the table quietly.

"When were you planning on telling me?" she asked, eyebrows raised, still a small grin on her lips.

"About what?"

"Job offering..."

"Must you do that?" Dennis put a hand to his throbbing forehead. He definately hadn't gotten enough sleep...

"I wasn't even sifting through your emotions..." Jules mused, "I could tell by your disposition of late." He looked at her like a guilty child who had gotten caught taking cookies from the jar. "So what do they want you to do?" she asked quietly. He knew she hated that he used his gifts for such 'jobs', but it wasn't like he could work at Burger King without getting a reading from something...

"Don't know," he answered with a groan.

"Where?"

"Don't know."

"Why?"

"How would I know why when I don't know what?" he snapped, more coldly than he would have preferred. "Sorry," he tried to apologize, his voice more gentle.

"No, I understand," she looked at him with her grayish eyes. "It's just, there's some crazy shit they ask you to do sometimes..."

"Yeah, no kidding."