It's a very short chapter, I know! But hopefully it will help me get back into the swing of things after a very long hiatus from writing! Thank you to those of you who have continued to read my work and ask about future installments! I hope that what I give you next won't disappoint!

Chapter 17

The journey to the safe house was about as lively as the original journey to the hospital had been. Once Barney had been carefully loaded into the back of an unmarked van, the others all tucked themselves discreetly into their places. Tool had once again taken the wheel, with Gunner riding shotgun beside him. Smilee had taken up a place directly beside Mickey, pressing himself rather tightly to her side as he kept his eyes on the doors at the back. Doc sat on the other side to monitor Barney's vitals. Mars mirrored Smilee and stared hard at the doors, his weapon in hand.

Where the other members of the team were, Mickey wasn't entirely sure. But there had been no time to ask once they had gotten moving, and her only concern was in making sure that Barney remained alive.

Only once did she think to ask where it was that they were going, but the brunette immediately thought better of it. The less she knew, the less information there was to pry out of her if she was to find herself as a hostage once more. As long as Barney made it to the hospital in this new location without an issue, she could begin planning the next steps.

Smilee glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "Don't even think about it."

Mickey blinked at him. "I beg your pardon?"

"You're already thinking about how you're going to give us the slip and go after Church," he said, raising a brow at her. "And I mean it. Don't even think about it."

"What the hell-"

"You're Barney's kid," Doc reminded her with an unamused look. "Do you really think we're not aware of that fact?"

She quickly bit her tongue against her retort. It was pure instinct at this point to assert that she had no father…that she had grown up with a mother who was now dead and was essentially an orphan, just as she had told Church. But the longer Mickey lingered at his bedside, the more she was beginning to question herself on that front. If some part of her didn't care then she wouldn't have remained. Luna had been right. Where exactly did that leave her though? It wasn't as if she and Barney had had ample time to hash it out and set aside their differences.

Life and death situations didn't leave a lot of room for talking.

Dark eyes turned back to the unconscious form before her, fingers gently reaching to take his hand. "I just need to get him to a place where I know he's going to be safe and secure," she murmured softly. "I don't want Church to find him."

And she meant it. As soon as the words had left her lips, Mickey knew that she had meant it. Despite all of the heartache and bad blood that lay between them in the past, she didn't want anything else to happen to him. Not because of her.

Smilee didn't seem entirely convinced, but he didn't argue. "You're staying at my side until we get everything under control," he told her once more, letting himself lower his tone to something less authoritative. "You and I both know that the old man will kill me if anything happens to you because I wasn't there to stop it."

"Are you really worried about Barney? Or about the rest of the team?" Mickey asked with a smirk.

Despite himself, the younger man smirked back in return, crossing one leg over the other as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her a little closer to his side. "I think you and I both know that Gunner would eat me for breakfast…"

"He'd certainly try."

"And succeed," Mars quipped.

"What was that?"

All four heads turned to look toward the front, where Gunner had shifted in his seat to look back at them all. "What are you bone heads talking about now?" he asked, directing his question to Smilee.

Mickey offered him a small smile. "Nothing important, Gunner, I promise. Are we nearly there?"

The giant shook his head. "Sorry kid. It's going to take us a while."

A heavy sigh left her lips as she slumped forward, rubbing at her eyes. Exhaustion was quickly beginning to take hold now that the adrenaline was wearing off. And without knowing how much longer they were going to be inside that van, she didn't know when she was going to be able to breathe fresh air again. Never mind when she might have a chance to lay her head down and get some sleep.

"Hey," Smilee murmured softly in her ear. "I know it's not ideal, but if you need to close your eyes-"

"I'll be fine," Mickey muttered.

"Yeah…no offense, but you won't be. You look like you're ready to drop," he countered. "C'mere."

He slowly shifted the way that he sat, tugging her a little closer to him so that he could get up and awkwardly switch places with her on the bench. He pressed himself into the corner, using it to support his back before he motioned for Mickey to come closer.

The brunette frowned a little. "Smilee? What-?"

"I can hold onto you while you sleep. You won't fall off of the bench, though I can't guarantee that the bumpy road won't wake you up a time or two." The man offered her a bit of a smile, motioning for Doc to give him the other blanket that they had stuffed under the bench. "Keep my sweater. It'll help keep the chill off."

When she looked over at Doc, the older man quickly lifted his hands in his defense. "You know exactly what I'm going to tell you, Mick. You need to get some rest. If this is how it happens, I'm not going to complain."

Smilee chuckled a little. "Two against one," he grinned at her. "And I promise to watch my hands."

Mickey rolled her eyes dramatically. If she was basically being told that she needed to use him as a human pillow, they were slightly beyond the warning of where he could and couldn't put his hands. Besides…she had a feeling that he wouldn't dare do anything inappropriate. Not with Doc, Gunner and Tool all riding in the very same van.

"Barney might wake up just to strangle you himself if you did," Mars added with a shit-eating grin.

"Oi…"

Mickey shifted on the bench, pulling her legs up as she curled a little closer to Smile and slowly allowed herself to rest her head against his chest. Almost immediately she noticed just how warm he was, momentarily debating whether or not she was even going to need the blanket that he was draping over her body. Then she felt his heartbeat.

When she had been a little girl, it was how she had fallen asleep. It hadn't mattered if it was with her mother late at night after a nightmare or in her father's lap on those rare occasions when he came to visit. The steady sound of a heartbeat had always been comforting to her in times of fear or uncertainty. Now was proving to be no different.

As the two of them began to settle, she closed her eyes and listened to every beat. Smilee wrapped his arms gently around her to keep her in place, adding additional warmth to her body. Instinctively, Mickey curled in a little bit tighter.

Somewhere to the side, she could vaguely hear Doc begin to chuckle. "I don't think she'll be awake for much longer."

"Just don't get me into trouble with her old man for it," Smilee rumbled with a small laugh.

If there were further words spoken in their conversation, Mickey didn't hear them. Exhaustion won out, and the young woman drifted off to sleep quite quickly. It was the second time that she had slept in the arms of a man who had sworn he was going to keep her safe. The first time since that night in the chapel that she had felt as if she was going to be okay. And the first time in a very long time where she didn't experience any sort of dream, good or bad.